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Barentz gets Cinven investment

Barentz has announced that Cinven has agreed to invest in the company. Cinven is an international private equity firm focused on building world-class European and global companies.

The rationale is said to be that a) Barentz has a strong market position in a structurally growing market for life science ingredients, b) the Cinven team knows the speciality ingredients distribution market well, and c) Cinven recognizes the opportunities for both organic and buy and build growth.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed

Considering the distribution business is a structurally growing market, Barentz says it wants to continue to expand in order to serve its suppliers and customers on a global scale.

Hidde van der Wal, CEO of Barentz, said: “We are delighted to be working with Cinven on the next phase of our growth. The Cinven team has really impressed us with their understanding of our market and their strong track record of growing businesses internationally.In particular, their investment and support for our business strategy will enable us to expand our operations into new geographic markets, including through acquisition, and will ensure we have the right infrastructure to achieve this.”

Ben Osnabrug, partner at Cinven, said: “Barentz has a strong presence in a structurally growing market. The Cinven team knows the speciality distribution sector well, with the key trends driving the growth of the food and life sciences ingredients market including a shift towards natural ingredients, increased demand for customised formulations, and a growing share of manufacturers using distributors to drive market access and to improve efficiencies.”

“Cinven’s investment in Barentz resulted from a combination of our detailed sub-sector approach within Business Services, and our regional network in the Netherlands, and we are delighted to invest in this primary opportunity. In particular, Barentz has an excellent management team whom we can back to pursue both organic and buy and build growth.”