May 2, 2007
Canec Inteational Ltd. is pleased to announce the acquisition by its client Naturex of a second Italian company. Naturex recently announced an acquisition project in the USA and specified on that occasion that other projects were being studied. One of these projects which advanced quickly over recent weeks has just been completed and Naturex is today able to announce the acquisition of the Italian company, HP Botanicals, specialized in the formulation and distribution of plant extracts for the Italian nutraceutical industry.
HP Botanicals, a Milan-based company with a light, 5-person structure, posted revenues of EUR 2.8 million in 2006, half of which came from the sale of Hammer Pharma plant extracts, an Italian company that Naturex acquired last January.
Naturex has been present in Italy since its acquisition of Hammer Pharma and, through this acquisition, the Group is reinforcing its position as a leading player on the Italian nutraceutical market. Mr. Fachini, the founder of HP Botanicals, said that he was very satisfied to have joined Naturex Group through this agreement which he believes “will sharply accelerate Naturex’s development in the nutraceutical industry, firstly in Italy but subsequently throughout Europe.”
The cost of the acquisition totalled EUR 2.2 million, which is around eight times EBITDA forecast for 2007. Naturex will finance the transaction through its structured loan for acquisitions set up in October 2006.
Of course, this project in no way calls into question the acquisition project in the USA which should be completed during the first half of this year.
As exclusive M&A advisors to Naturex, Canec Inteational Ltd. facilitated this transaction.
Naturex manufactures and sells 100{fed1cb9cadadc7ad93f4a1e5499ba3581105cf44f475991d37411cbe777fdebd} natural ingredients for the food, flavor, nutraceutical, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Based in Avignon, France, the Group has an inteational reach, with over 90{fed1cb9cadadc7ad93f4a1e5499ba3581105cf44f475991d37411cbe777fdebd} of its sales realized in 30 different countries outside France, 60{fed1cb9cadadc7ad93f4a1e5499ba3581105cf44f475991d37411cbe777fdebd} of which are generated on the US market. Naturex has facilities in France, Morocco, the United States and Italy, a subsidiary in the United Kingdom and a representative office in Singapore.
Canec Inteational Ltd. was established in 1989 to meet the needs of a growing number of European and North American companies wanting to expand overseas. Canec provides transatlantic buy and sell-side services to companies looking to invest overseas or divest businesses with enterprise values between $10 Million and $150 Million.”