M&A Deal Summary

Sodexo Acquires Gardner Merchant

On January 11, 1995, Sodexo acquired food company Gardner Merchant from Cinven and CVC Capital Partners

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is Sodexo’s 1st transaction in the Food sector.
  • This is Sodexo’s 1st transaction in the United Kingdom.

M&A Deal Summary
Date 1995-01-11
Target Gardner Merchant
Sector Food
Buyer(s) Sodexo
Sellers(s) Cinven
CVC Capital Partners
Deal Type Add-on Acquisition

Target

Gardner Merchant

London, United Kingdom
Gardner Merchant was the contract catering group in the UK with substantial operations in the US, continental Europe and Australia, providing food services to businesses and the public sector.

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Buyer(S) 1

Buyer

Sodexo

Issy-les-Moulineaux, France

website

Category Company
Founded 1966
Sector Internet Software and Services
Employees308,580
Revenue 21.1B EUR (2022)
DESCRIPTION

Sodexo engages in the design, management, and delivery of service solutions through on-site service solutions and motivation solutions. Sodexo was founded in 1966 and is based in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 1 of 19
Sector (Food) 1 of 4
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 1 of 17
Country (United Kingdom) 1 of 5
Year (1995) 1 of 2
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
1995-12-01 Partena AB

Hagersten, Sweden

Partena AB provider of contracted catering, cleaning, care and security services in Sweden and Norway.

Buy -

Seller(S) 2

SELLER

Cinven

London, United Kingdom

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

website

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1977
PE ASSETS 39.0B EUR
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Cinven is a private equity firm focused on buyout investments in growing, profitable businesses located throughout Europe and North America. Sectors of interest include business and financial services, healthcare, industrial, retail, leisure, consumer, technology, media, and telecommunications. Cinven looks to invest a minimum of €200 million in companies with minimum enterprise values of €400 million. Cinven does not invest in start-ups or development phase companies. Cinven was established in 1977 and is headquartered in London.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 23 of 125
Sector (Food) 3 of 5
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 2 of 30
Country (United Kingdom) 22 of 72
Year (1995) 1 of 7
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
1995-01-01 Automotive Products Group

Leamington Spa, United Kingdom

Automotive Products Group’s business is focused upon the manufacture, sale and distribution of clutches and brakes to the whole of the automotive industry, including cars, vans, lorries and other commercial vehicles such as tractors.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
1995-03-01 LH Media

United Kingdom

LH Media was a specialist magazine publisher acquired from United Newspapers in 1995. The company published magazines in a number of diverse sectors including motoring, boating, music and biking. The portfolio comprised 25 monthly and bi-monthly publications and 27 annual publications.

Buy -
SELLER

CVC Capital Partners

Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

website

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1981
PE ASSETS 177.0B EUR
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

CVC Capital Partners is a global private equity firm focused on investments in large companies located in Europe, North America, and Asia. CVC looks for opportunities with stable cash flows and talented management, and will consider businesses in a variety of industries. Target sectors include textiles, industrial products, waste management, building materials, energy/utilities, business services, financial services, distribution, healthcare, media, semiconductors, and gaming. CVC can handle transactions valued from €200 million to €10 billion. CVC Capital Partners was formed in 1981 and is based in Luxembourg.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 6 of 171
Sector (Food) 2 of 11
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 1 of 62
Country (United Kingdom) 6 of 32
Year (1995) 1 of 2
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
1995-01-01 Heiploeg BV

Zoutkamp, Netherlands

Heiploeg has consistently been growing during the last 100 years plus from being a small family company in Zoutkamp to becoming the largest shrimp supplier of Europe.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
1995-11-01 Novem Car Interior Design

Vorbach, Germany

Novem Car Interior Design is the supplier for interior wood trim components in the automotive sector. Its products are designed to be fitted to the car interior as fully finished components and are manufactured primarily using pressing, sanding, and lacquering techniques and processes. Novem Car Interior Design was founded in 1947 and is based in Vorbach, Germany.

Buy -
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