Solina, a leading global partner for the food industry designing savoury ingredient solutions, has acquired W.T. Lynch Foods Limited in Canada to accelerate its expansion in the North American market.

Lynch Foods is an Ontario, Canada-based manufacturer of customized savoury and sweet culinary solutions for foodservice and industrial markets, generating $95M CAD (65M €) annual sales. The company provides table portion and kitchen bulk sizes of sauces, syrups and dessert toppings, plus soup and gravy bases to its foodservice, QSR, and industrial customers.

Like Solina, Lynch Foods offers a wide range of manufacturing and packaging options providing flexibility to meet customer needs, and has a commitment to unique, quality flavour solutions dating back to its founding in 1942.

By acquiring these capabilities, Solina continues the North American expansion that began with its purchase of Canadian foodservice leader Produits Alimentaires Berthelet in 2020. Lynch Foods’ leadership team and the company’s 178 employees will join Solina, bringing Solina’s headcount in Canada to more than 315 and making it a major, coast-to-coast player with unique flavour solutions and manufacturing capabilities.

“In Lynch Foods, we have bought a company that has a similar and complementary business platform to Berthelet and the capacity and capabilities to drive our growth as a leading food solutions partner in the Canadian market,” Anthony Francheterre, CEO of Solina, said. “This is a positive and exciting move for both companies, our customers, and our people.”

“This is a remarkable moment for us in Canada,” said Guillaume Dubois, President of Solina Canada. “Having Lynch Foods and Berthelet in our portfolio gives us coverage coast-to-coast and establishes Solina as the leader in foodservice and customized flavour solutions nationally. Our customers and our people will benefit from our expanded capabilities and ability to grow with them.”

Solina has established leading capabilities in Canada and the United States through a series of acquisitions in recent years. In addition to Berthelet, the savoury food leader bought Asenzya, a provider of custom, dry savoury solutions, and Saratoga Food Specialties, a leader in custom seasoning and sauce flavour solutions for foodservice chains and food manufacturers. Solina now has four sites in the U.S. and three in Canada that complement its diversified portfolio of culinary dry and liquid ingredient solutions in Europe and enable it to stand out as an agile and customer-focused North American food solutions partner.

About Lynch Foods
Lynch Foods is a Canadian food manufacturer that provides customized food solutions for foodservice, retail, healthcare, and industrial use and prides itself on superior product quality, industry-leading order fill rates, quality control standards, and innovative research & development. With diverse manufacturing capabilities, Lynch Foods manufactures jams & jellies, sauces & dressings, soup & gravy bases, cold and hot beverage mixes, syrups, and dessert toppings, from small portion size for consumers to bulk size for restaurants and industrial customers.

Canec originated and facilitated this transaction, acting as exclusive M&A advisor to Solina.

Following our communication at the beginning of October, we are proud to announce that Solina has acquired U.S. based Saratoga Food Specialties to continue our expansion in North America. Solina established a presence in the U.S. for the first time in 2021 with the acquisition of Asenzya, a Wisconsin-based provider of custom dry seasoning solutions for the food industry.

Acquiring Saratoga accelerates Solina’s footprint into North America, notably by adding liquid solutions to our existing dry seasoning capabilities, doubling the number of facilities in the region from three to six, and leading to the establishment of a dedicated Solina North American organization with significant expertise in B2B (industry), foodservice (QSR) and retail.

Solina is excited to welcome Saratoga’s leadership team and its 500 employees to our global Solina team of 2700 people. Michael Marks, former President of Saratoga Food Specialties, will lead the operations as President of Solina US, reporting to Mark Duffy, President of Solina North America.

“Michael Marks will lead a collaborative and thoughtful integration process, leveraging the best of Saratoga’s and Asenzya’s different yet compatible businesses in the U.S. to create a great opportunity for our customers,” said Mark Duffy. “Saratoga’s customized liquid flavor solutions and dry seasoning blends for QSR/foodservice and industrial customers complement Asenzya’s customized dry seasoning capabilities and B2B focus. The integration of the two businesses expands our capabilities, solidifies Solina’s commitment to the U.S. marketplace and sets us up for future growth.”

“With Saratoga joining Solina, we will create a leading one-stop-shop for customized flavour solutions and premium quality products in North America. In addition, we will leverage our specific product expertise in coatings, plant protein, and liquid solutions, as well as our heritage in meat solutions, to bring additional solutions to Saratoga’s customers,” Anthony Francheterre, CEO of Solina, said.

Michael Marks added, “I am excited to work with the Solina team to continue our commitment to driving innovation for our customers. Solina recognizes Saratoga’s unique capabilities and shares our strategic vision. We are now in a position to disrupt the industry by leveraging the benefits of a global network of sourcing specialists, R&D teams, food technologists, chefs, and more, while simultaneously reinforcing our local, customized, and personal service to our customers.”

ABOUT SARATOGA FOOD SPECIALTIES

Established 75 years ago, Saratoga is a custom seasoning and sauce manufacturer that creates proprietary solutions for the largest restaurant companies in North America. Built by food ingredient innovators, Saratoga works tirelessly to discover flavors that inspire customers and delight consumers. The company employs more than 500 employees with manufacturing facilities in Eastvale, CA, Bolingbrook, IL and North Las Vegas, NV.

Canec originated and facilitated this transaction, acting as exclusive M&A advisor to Solina.

Solina, a leading European producer of savoury ingredient solutions for the food industry, has signed an agreement to acquire Saratoga Food Specialties to continue its expansion in North America. The regulatory approval process is underway and the transaction is expected to close at the end of October 2022.

With operations in California, Illinois, and Nevada, and annual sales of $280M, Saratoga supplies Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) and food manufacturers with custom dry seasoning blends and liquid solutions such as sauces, dressings, and glazes. Upon closing, the Saratoga leadership team and its 500 employees will join Solina.

Like Solina, Saratoga combines market and consumer insights with culinary expertise, R&D infrastructure, and advanced procurement capabilities to support and guide its customers with extensive value-added services. Having shown a remarkable growth trajectory due to its strong service-driven approach, Saratoga represents a perfect fit with Solina’s vision to establish a global customer-centric organization in which geographical proximity is key for long-lasting customer relationships.

Acquiring Saratoga accelerates Solina’s footprint into North America, notably by adding liquid solutions to its existing dry seasoning capabilities, doubling its number of facilities in the region, and providing the North American organization with significant expertise in B2B (industry), foodservice (QSR) and retail.

“With Saratoga joining Solina, we will create a leading one-stop-shop for ingredient solutions in North America,” Anthony Francheterre, CEO of Solina, said. “We look forward to leveraging the opportunities and value this acquisition will bring to our people and to our collective food industry customers across the globe.”

The Saratoga acquisition is the third step in a North America expansion strategy that began in 2020 with the acquisition of Canadian foodservice leader Produits Alimentaires Berthelet. Solina established a presence in the U.S. for the first time in 2021 with the acquisition of Asenzya, a Wisconsin-based provider of custom, dry savoury solutions. With the acquisition of Saratoga, Solina will have four sites in the U.S. and two in Canada that collectively mirror the breadth of the dry and liquid solution capabilities that the company possesses in Europe. The expanded set of North American capabilities will enable Solina to build contingency into its supply chain and leverage its European services and value proposition.

“I’m excited to work with the Solina team in the future to continue our commitment to driving innovation for our customers as well as new opportunities Press release Paris 4th October 2022 Solina Rue Marivaux 13 75002 Paris France solina.com for our talented people,” said Michael Marks, President of Saratoga. “Solina has become a market leader in Europe by providing integrated solutions that address the diverse needs of each project, which complements the way we focus on our customers’ needs. This acquisition is good for our business, our customers, and our people.”

Canec originated and facilitated this transaction, acting as exclusive M&A advisor to Solina.

Safran Data Systems, a subsidiary of Safran Electronics & Defense, has just acquired Captronic Systems, a local Indian company. As a leading player in the space industry supplying instrumentation for testing, telemetry and communications with satellites, launch vehicles and all types of remote platform, Safran Data Systems is expanding its product portfolio and continuing to strengthen its international operations in this strategic country.

An extensive range for Aerodefense and Space markets

Within 20 years, Captronic Systems has developed unique expertise in studying, developing and supplying automated test equipment for aerodefense, space and automotive applications. With a team of more than 100 engineers based in India, in Bangalore, Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram, the company is renowned for its skills in systems engineering, radio frequency, digital signal processing, instrumentation and testing.

While keeping growth across its historic markets in India and Southeast Asia, Captronic Systems will also allocate resources to integrate, adapt and support Safran Data Systems’ offers in this region, with a particular focus on organizations that are related to the India’s Defence and Research Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Safran will also benefit from Captronic Systems’ expertise in automated test equipment engineering, validation and integration in Europe.

In line with the Indian government’s “Make in India” plan

Safran recently confirmed its commitment to the “Make in India” policy launched by the Indian government to encourage businesses to design, manufacture and assemble hi-tech products locally.

Over 50 years after joining the space race, India is among the world’s leading players and has seen strong growth in recent years with a number of exploration programs supported by India’s space agency. Many private initiatives supported by governmental organizations are also contributing to the development of New Space (lightweight launch vehicles, micro and small satellites, etc.).

The acquisition will enable Safran Data Systems to extend its operations in India and make this strategic country another pillar to support its ambitions in Asia.

Canec facilitated this transaction, acting as co-M&A advisor to Captronic together with their Indian advisor, Mindspring Advisors.

With the merger, the EUROGERM group is acquiring strategic assets for its development in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. The complementary assets and combined expertise between the two companies, specializing in bakery ingredients, will make it possible to support current and future North American customers with optimal efficiency and responsiveness.

Located in New Jersey, with direct access to the East Coast, KB INGREDIENTS production and packaging plant will increase EUROGERM’s production and distribution capacities in North America. EUROGERM USA, for its part, will provide access to the group’s various elements of expertise: CSR, R&D, global sourcing, training, regulatory compliance, sensory evaluation.

The creation of EUROGERM KB LLC offers customers and vendors in the North American market the opportunity to work with an innovative and agile partner while benefiting from the support of an international group. The pooling of resources and particularly the supply of raw materials will generate strong purchasing synergies, a major advantage during this period of inflation.
United around common values -integrity, respect, commitment and passion for success- EUROGERM USA and KB INGREDIENTS will share within EUROGERM KB LLC the same ambition in the service of their customers: Feeding a better future!

“We are very pleased with this merger between our two companies. EUROGERM KB LLC will allow us to strengthen the proximity with our customers, to develop and offer new expertise, particularly in the field of pastry”. Jean-François HONORÉ, President of the EUROGERM Group, Ben KANSAKAR, CEO of EUROGERM USA and Brad KEATING, Founder and CEO of KB INGREDIENTS.

Canec originated and facilitated this transaction, acting as exclusive M&A advisor to Eurogerm.

Bringing culinary expertise in savoury to the US

Solina, a leading European producer of savoury ingredients solutions for the food industry, announces the completion of the acquisition of Asenzya® Inc.

Headquartered in Oak Creek, Wisconsin (United States), the company takes a culinary approach to the creation of custom, dry savoury solutions. Asenzya®, has invested in building world-class culinary, R&D and operations infrastructure to establish itself at the forefront of the industry in North America. Asenzya count 145 employees and have a turnover of USD 50M$.

For Solina, the acquisition continues a long-running strategy of expanding geographically through takeovers and establishes it in the US for the first time. Having built a leadership position in Europe, Solina entered North America in January 2020 through the takeover of Canadian foodservice leader Berthelet. Entering the US by acquiring a business with complementary capabilities and culture means another milestone for Solina’s growth trajectory.

Patty Goto, President of Asenzya®, commented: “We are pleased to join the Solina Group. Our shared vision of technology, innovation, and culinary trends will create the perfect blend for strategic growth within the United States. Solina offers Asenzya a broader reach across the globe and we are very excited to share future success.”

Anthony Francheterre, CEO of Solina, added: “The acquisition of Asenzya® is a landmark in the geographic expansion of Solina. With a presence in the US, we are now positioned to work closely with the North American food industry to deliver innovative solutions that enable our customers to meet ever-changing consumer demands.”

Eric Terré, Solina Founder and Chairman stated: “Asenzya® is an ideal fit for Solina. Both companies have roots in servicing the meat industry and have diversified in recent decades, with Asenzya® expanding to cover the protein, snack food, sauces, bakery and frozen foods industries. Working out of a state-of-the-art technical centre, Asenzya® has stayed at the forefront of innovation as it has expanded, while retaining the family values that have helped it forge strong ties with its customers and employees.”
The parties have agreed not to disclose the transaction value.

Canec originated and facilitated this transaction, acting as exclusive M&A advisor to Solina.

Radiall America, Inc. announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Timbercon, Inc., a fiber optic interconnect specialist based in Tualatin, Oregon.
“We are excited to welcome Timbercon to the Radiall Group. By combining our activities, our objective is to offer the most comprehensive range of end to end active and optical interconnect solutions for harsh environments, through innovation, simplification and service,” says Pierre Gattaz, President & CEO.
“Joining the Radiall Group will allow Timbercon to continue to elevate its commitment to stellar customer service and providing zero defect solutions, on time, and on budget to demanding markets. We are very excited what the future brings as part of the Radiall Team,” says Eric Meslow, President of Timbercon.
Timbercon, Inc. will continue to operate as a standalone company under its current leadership, while leveraging synergies with Radiall.

About Radiall
Radiall, founded in 1952, is a global manufacturer of leading-edge interconnect solutions that employs 3,500 individuals. The company offers an extensive range of RF coaxial connectors and cable assemblies, coaxial switches, fiber optic and microwave components, multipin connectors and more. Radiall has sales offices and subsidiaries throughout the world to support its customers locally.

About Timbercon
Timbercon, Inc., an 80 employee company founded in 1997, is a fiber optic product and solution manufacturing company that provides a variety of connectivity solutions to the aerospace, defense, medical, data storage, telecommunications, industrial, broadcast and networking industries.

Canec originated and facilitated this transaction, acting as exclusive M&A advisor to Radiall.

Puratos Canada, the Canadian arm of global Belgium-based ingredient supplier, Puratos, is pleased to announce the strategic acquisition of Sandel Foods Inc (SFI).

Established in 1979, SFI is one of the leading fruit fillings producers in Western Canada. SFI offers the expertise and flexibility to formulate products to meet the evolving needs of customers and consumers across Western Canada and the United States. They are the only processors in Canada that provide glacé fruit products and are particularly known for their organic and preservative-free fillings.

Sandel Foods, a leading fruit fillings producer in Western Canada, operates out of its headquarters in Chilliwack, British Columbia.
The facility is over 70,000 square feet of automated production lines. “We are very excited and look forward to working with a strong-valued, family-oriented, and customer-centric company,” says Wade Godin, Commercial Director of Sandel Foods. “Finding a partner in Puratos gives us the confidence that the business will continue to grow on a global level and that Sandel Foods will gain access to new technologies and industry-leading Research & Development opportunities.”

As reliable partners in innovation, Puratos offers a full range of innovative products and application expertise. The Mississauga facility has an Innovation Centre, four production lines, a full R&D team and access to consumer research such as Taste Tomorrow, the world’s largest bakery, patisserie, and chocolate consumer survey.

This partnership will afford SFI access to new customers, technologies, R&D and marketing resources, allowing them to grow and expand their geographical sales offerings.

“We strongly believe that this strategic acquisition will be mutually beneficial and allow growth for both parties,” says Edouard Pot, President Puratos Canada. “The experienced team at SFI and its manufacturing platform produce high-quality and differentiated products which will enable us to expand our fillings portfolio and capabilities and enlarge our footprint in western North America. Additionally, SFI’s organic and preservative-free offerings align with Puratos’ proactive approach to consumer well-being. Through our Cleaner Label strategy, we are addressing increasing consumer demand for transparency and offering products that meet ever-changing dietary needs and lifestyle choices.”

Puratos aims for a seamless transition and integration for customers, suppliers, vendors, and partners. Future endeavors include exploring opportunities to bring in new resources, capabilities, and R&D support to enable accelerated growth.

Canec originated and facilitated this transaction, acting as exclusive M&A advisor to Puratos.