Sale of Hofmann Menu
HG Capital Trust PLC
30 November 2007
The following is the text of a press release issued by HgCapital, which manages
the investment portfolio of HgCapital Trust plc alongside those of other
institutional clients. On completion of the sale of Hofmann Menu, HgCapital
Trust plc, a listed investment trust giving investors the opportunity to
participate in all of HgCapital's investments, will realise a total of about
£10.7 million. The impact of the realisation on the net asset value of HgCapital
Trust plc would be an increase of approximately 20.7p per share over the
published October 2007 net asset value. The deal is subject to cartel clearance
with completion expected in January 2008.
Hofmann Menu secures the support of a new strategic partner
Hofmann Menu is a market-leading provider of frozen food products as well as
related on-site catering for small business canteens and social organisations
such as care homes, hospitals and schools in Germany.
Under the successful stewardship of HgCapital, which acquired the company in
2005, Hofmann Menu has sharpened its strategic focus on hospitals and other
social organisations, invested in new product and service offerings,
significantly expanded capacity and entered new geographical markets.
In line with its strategic plan, Hofmann Menu's development has been very
strong, and the company will now accelerate its roll-out further with a new
partner. Gilde, an investor with a strong record of investing in food companies,
has signed a binding agreement with HgCapital, which is realising its interest,
to acquire a majority stake in the company.
Hofmann Menu, headquartered in Boxberg-Schweigern, generates sales of just over
€100 million and employs over 600 people. The company operates three
closely-located production facilities near Boxberg-Schweigern and six
distribution & logistics centers. The current daily production volume is in
excess of 150,000 meals, all of which are manually prepared in one of the three
central kitchens and immediately shock-frozen after preparation (the successful
premium quality 'cook + freeze' concept).
Johannes Ulrich, Managing Director, Hofmann Menu, commented:
'We wish to strengthen our position in the hospital and social organisation
segments further and to expand our European footprint. In Gilde, we have found a
partner that will support us not only in financial terms, but also through
know-how and its well-established network'.
Ralph Wyss, Managing Director, Gilde Buy Out Partners, said:
'Our majority participation represents a long-term commitment to Hofmann Menu.
We will provide full support to the company in its entry into new market
segments and in meeting its strategic objectives. This represents an opportunity
for Gilde to participate in a company that is well positioned to step up its
leading position in the business-to-business frozen food and food service
segment'.
Philipp Schwalber, Director at HgCapital, said:
'We are very pleased to have supported the company as it has grown and developed
strategically and operationally over the past two years. It is now in an
excellent position to continue this trajectory and I have every confidence in
its future success. We wish the team at Hofmann all the very best in taking
their plans forward'.
Transaction participants:
For Gilde:
Gilde Buy Out Partners: Ralph Wyss, Nikolai Pronk, Alexander Friedrich,
Alexandra Schmid
Commercial due diligence: Simon & Kucher (D. Lauszus, S. Hock)
Financial: KPMG (D. Nawe, T Filipczyk)
Legal: Kirkland & Ellis (V. Kullmann, C. Zuleger, W. Nardi, S. Lurken)
Financing Bank: Unicredit Markets & Investment Banking (S. Kruse, V. Kruse)
Mezzanine: European Capital (H. Twietmeyer, R. von Finckenstein)
Financing Contracts, acting for banks: Linklaters (E. Reudelhuber, J.
Koermoeczi)
Management Contracts acting for management: Pollath + Partners (B. Hohaus)
Tax: KPMG (M Dudenhofer, J. Berberich,)
Insurance: Marsh (U. Heuser)
Environment: URS (M. Lalic, C. Rupp)
For HgCapital:
HgCapital: Ph. Schwalber, J. Drees
M&A: Sal Oppenheim (W. Schmerl, C. Hofer)
Financial Vendor DD: KPMG (N. Hall)
Legal: Clifford Chance (B. Hesse)
Contacts:
Hofmann Menu
Johannes Ulrich Tel: +49 7930 601100
Gilde Buy Out Partners
Ralph Wyss Tel: + 41 43 268 20 30
HgCapital
Philip Schwalber Tel: +44 20 7089 7920
Maitland
Peter Ogden Tel: +44 (0)20 7379 5151
About HgCapital
HgCapital is a private-equity investor in the European mid-market. We focus on
investments with an enterprise value in the range of €75-750 million. Our
business model combines sector specialisation with dedicated, pro-active support
to our portfolio companies as well as the corresponding management expertise
across all phases of the investment process. HgCapital manages more than €2.7
billion for some of the world's leading institutional and private investors. Our
goal is to achieve outstanding results for our investors, management team and
intermediaries.
Further information on HgCapital can be found at www.hgcapital.com.
About Gilde Buy Out Partners
Gilde Buy Out Partners is one of Europe's foremost mid-market private equity
investors, with managed funds in excess of €1.3 billion. Gilde operates in the
Benelux and its neighbouring economies France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
With offices in The Netherlands, Switzerland and France and its multinational
team, Gilde is truly entrenched in these markets and can offer local expertise
coupled with European reach and execution skills. Since its inception in 1982,
Gilde has invested in over 250 companies across a diverse range of sectors. At
€600 million its current investment fund Gilde Buy Out Fund III is among the
largest dedicated mid-market buyout investment funds in Europe today. Gilde Buy
Out Partners have consistently delivered high returns to its investors. The
Gilde Buy Out Funds are subscribed by over 30 institutional investors which
include some of the worlds leading financial institutions, pension funds and
specialised investment funds.
Further information on Gilde can be found at www.gilde.nl.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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