Belgium’s Agri Investment Fund exits fruit and veg processor

The Deprez Family now owns more than 50% of Greenyard, a long-time private equity favorite with a market capitalization of more than €970m.

The Agri Investment Fund has sold its 4 percent holding in Brussels-listed Greenyard Foods to Belgium’s Deprez family.

The transaction sees the latter’s ownership of the business grow to 49.3 percent. Accounting for Greenyard’s recent efforts to buy back shares, the Deprez family now owns more than 50 percent of the company.

No value was disclosed for the transaction, and none of the parties involved responded to requests for comment.

AIF had initially bought its stake in Greenyard from KBC Private Equity in 2011, a transaction that saw it participate in a capital increase of more than €44 million. The company currently has a market capitalization of €978 million.

The deal caps efforts by the Deprez family – which holds its stake in the business through two vehicles, Deprez Holding and Food Invest International – to boost its share of Greenyard past the controlling stake threshold.

In March, the family had already increased its holding from 29.09 percent to 30.54 percent by buying Groupe d’Aucy’s stake. It then acquired additional shares following the stake sale held by Gimv, a European buyout firm, to the stock exchange. Gimv had held an interest in Greenyard for six years, via its €609 million Gimv-XL fund.

Shares in Greenyard have been buoyed by strong demand over the last year, rising by near 77 percent in the past 12 months. The group, which processes and distributes harvest-fresh vegetables, fruit and ready-made meals, recorded an annual turnover of about €4.25 billion last year.