Latest news with #Greenyard
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Greenyard family founders secure majority share in takeover bid
The Deprez family founders of Belgium fruit and vegetable group Greenyard have successfully secured a majority share in the business as part of a takeover. Hein Deprez and his family launched a takeover offer for Brussels-listed Greenyard in April, seeking to purchase shares they did not already own in the business from shareholders. A new holding company was set up to house the family's existing 37.7% interest, along with any newly acquired shares - Garden based in Luxembourg. In a statement today (18 July), it was revealed that Garden, effectively the Deprez family, has now taken its ownership to 94.71% of Greenyard's shares as part of the bid process. The tendered price for the shares was €7.4 ($8.6) each, the same price as the initial offer put forward in the April announcement. Payment will be made no later than the 4 August, according to the statement. Despite not meeting the 95% acceptance threshold set forth in April, Garden has now waived that requirement but will reopen the bid offer on 24 July until 13 August. 'Shareholders who have not yet accepted the offer will have the opportunity to tender their shares in the offer during this subsequent acceptance period,' Garden said, with the aim of eventually acquiring 100% of Greenyard's shares. The acquisition strategy is supported by Solum Partners, a food and agriculture investment manager headquartered in Massachusetts. It will co-control Garden with the Deprez family after the transaction. Greenyard will be delisted from the Euronext Brussels exchange once full control is achieved. Mr Deprez founded what was then Univeg in 1987 before the company became Greenyard. In 2015 a merger between Greenyard, Univeg and agribusiness Peatinvest emerged, with Hein Deprez owning shares in each of those businesses before the deal was completed. Under previous notifications, Greenyard aims to reach €5.4bn in annual sales by March 2026, along with an adjusted EBITDA of €200-210m. In the first half of the current financial year, sales rose 6.1% to €2.6bn, driven by price increases and volume growth. Adjusted EBITDA increased 4.6% to €94.4m, while net profit was €1.2m. In the recent full financial year (2023/24), Greenyard's sales increased 10.9% to €5.1bn. Adjusted EBITDA rose 11.5% to €186.5m, and net profit was up 63% at €15.2m. "Greenyard family founders secure majority share in takeover bid" was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Greenyard subject of takeover offer by Deprez family founders
The Deprez family founders of Belgium fruit and vegetable group Greenyard are launching a takeover bid for the Brussels-listed business. Hein Deprez and his family currently hold 37.7% of the shares in Greenyard and are seeking to acquire an additional 57.73% from the company's shareholders at €7.40 ($8.43) each – the intended offer – through around 29.74 million shares. A new holding company has been set up for the process, Garden based in Luxembourg, and which will house the existing shares of the Deprez family and those purchased through the offer. As of Greenyard's 11 April statement of the offer, the Deprez family will be the 'sole shareholder' of Garden. They will be supported in their intent by Solum Partners, an investment manager for the food and agriculture industry headquartered in Massachusetts. Solum will provide financing for the share offer, if successful, and will become a 'co-controlling shareholder' of Garden post transaction with the Deprez family. 'The Deprez family and Solum, through the intended offer, seek to support Greenyard to achieve its strategic priorities by enhancing the stability of its capital base through private, long-term capital,' according to the statement. The share offer has been approved by Greenyard's board, which 'unanimously supports and recommends the intended offer', subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals. On the condition of an acceptance threshold of 95% of the Greenyard shares – the 57.73% bid and the Deprez family holding of 37.7% - Garden will then exercise a so-called "squeeze-out" for the rest of the business. Koen Hoffman, the chairman of Greenyard's board, said: 'Subject to our thorough evaluation of the prospectus to be filed and the report of the independent expert, the board of directors has assessed the offer and unanimously decided to support it. 'We, as the board of directors, believe that the offer is in the interest of both the company and its stakeholders.' Mr Deprez founded what was then Univeg in 1987 before the company became Greenyard. In 2015 a merger between Greenyard, Univeg and agribusiness Peatinvest emerged, with Hein Deprez owning shares in each of those businesses before the deal was completed. Under former notifications, Greenyard is seeking to reach €5.4bn in annual sales by March 2026, along with an adjusted EBITDA print of €200-210m. In the first half of the company's current financial year, sales climbed 6.1% to €2.6bn, led by pricing of 2.4%, or what Greenyard termed as 'inflation compensating measures'. Volumes rose 2.9%. Adjusted EBITDA increased 4.6% to €94.4m. Net profit was €1.2m. Sales in the company's recent full financial year (2023/24) rose 10.9% to €5.1bn. Adjusted EBITDA increased 11.5% to €186.5m and net profit was up 63% at €15.2m. That same fiscal year, Greenyard struck a couple of acquisitions. It bought Belgium's Crème de la Crème, a private-label manufacturer of frozen desserts such as ice lollies, sorbet and gelato. And it acquired dairy-free, Italian-style, ice-cream maker Gigi Gelato, headquartered in the Netherlands. That was before Francis Kint was promoted to CEO at the tail end of 2023, ending the dual leadership of Hein Deprez and Marc Zwaanveld. Greenyard said in its offer statement that the price submitted for the additional shares will be reduced depending on gross dividends paid to its shareholders. Current shareholders – equating to 30.04% or around 15.47m shares – were identified in the statement as being: Alychlo NV, Sujajo Investments SA, Agri Investment Fund BV, Mr Joris Ide and Mr Marc Ooms 'indirectly through family holding companies'. Those entities and people have 'committed to tender their shares in Greenyard' under the offer proposal, which at €7.40 a share represented a premium of 37% over the company's market price as of 1 April. "Greenyard subject of takeover offer by Deprez family founders" was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
