Deals

Nordic Capital acquires majority stake in Swedish fresh produce supplier

Greenfood has changed hands twice this year, leaving its most recent majority shareholder, Fidelio, with an interest in the company.

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Nordic Capital has acquired a majority stake in Swedish fresh produce supplier Greenfood Group through the firm’s Fund VIII, which closed in 2013 on ‎€3.5 billion.

The firm, which targets large- to medium-sized buyouts in Nordic companies, aims to back Greenfood’s international expansion through organic growth and acquisitions.

Nordic Capital hopes to capitalise on “increased healthy eating and demand for convenient meal solutions within fruits and vegetables,” the company said in a press release.

Greenfood’s management team, senior executives and the family-owned investment firm Fidelio Capital will continue to own shares in Greenfood, but Fidelio will give way to Nordic as majority shareholder.

None of the parties have disclosed financial details.

“This new partnership will put Greenfood in an excellent position to continue and accelerate our growth over the coming years and also to expand geographically with our innovative concepts,” said Greenfood chief executive officer Lars Astrom.

Fidelio first acquired STC Greenfood in June this year, and integrated its salad bar service Picadeli into a new Greenfood Group. Picadeli had 1,500 locations in Sweden, Finland and Estonia at the time. The group’s interests now cover the whole supply chain, as they include delivery service Fresh Cut and supplier Sourcing.

Fidelio bought STC Greenfood from STC Internfinans, a privately owned Swedish private equity fund that focuses on long-term portfolio management and owns forestry company Akers Kronoparken.

Greenfood now has about 700 employees, 150 more than in June, and sales of about €420 million a year, according to the press release.

Nordic last invested in food services when it acquired food distributor Menigo in 2006 through its Fund VI. It concentrates on Nordic companies with some emphasis on healthcare, and has

Fidelio identifies itself as similar to a private equity firm, but without outside investors or specific time constraints of closed-ended funds.

Greenfood has operations in Sweden, Finland, Spain and Denmark.