Barentz, Backed by Cinven, Files IPO Prospectus as a Global Specialty Ingredients Provider for Life Sciences

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media that on November 26, 2019, local time, specialty ingredients supplier Barentz announced that Cinven, a leading international private equity firm, had agreed to invest in the company. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Barentz, established in 1953 and headquartered in the Netherlands, specializes in distributing specialty ingredients and additives—such as amino acids, antioxidants, carbohydrates, grains, botanicals, cosmetic ingredients, proteins, vitamins, and preservatives—to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large customers worldwide. The company sources branded specialty ingredients from leading global manufacturers, provides value-added technical support through its team of ingredient experts (including premixing, blending, formulation, and testing), and distributes the finished ingredient products to markets in the United States and Asia.

Currently, Barentz’s business operations span more than 60 countries and regions worldwide, with a strong presence in Europe and Asia, and steadily growing activities in North America and Latin America. The company employs approximately 1,100 people globally and maintains technical application centers in Finland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Singapore, the United States, and South America. Barentz connects more than 1,000 upstream raw material suppliers with over 15,000 downstream customers across the industry chain. According to the company’s official website, Barentz achieved an annual turnover of €1.1 billion in 2017.

According to Cinven’s announcement, the firm’s investment in Barentz was primarily driven by the following advantages:

1. Possess strong capabilities in structurally growing markets that are both attractive and resilient;

2. Delivering value-added propositions to numerous ingredient manufacturers and a highly diversified customer base;

3. Demonstrated strong performance in executing and integrating acquisitions;

4. A strong track record of financial health and revenue-generating capability;

5. Accelerate its business growth by investing in the group’s infrastructure and R&D capabilities;

6. An experienced management team led by CEO Hidde van der Wal;

Ben Osnabrug, Partner at Cinven, stated: “Barentz holds a strong position in a constantly evolving market. The Cinven team possesses deep expertise in the distribution industry. Currently, many factors are driving growth in the food and life sciences ingredients market, such as increasing demand for natural ingredients, rising need for customized formulations, customers’ preference for leveraging distributor models to facilitate market access, and the growing market share of high-efficiency manufacturers. We are delighted to invest in this major trend, particularly given that Barentz has an outstanding management team. We will support this team in pursuing both organic growth and acquisition-led growth.”

Hidde van der Wal, CEO of Barentz, stated: “We are delighted to partner with Cinven for the next phase of our growth. We have been deeply impressed by the Cinven team’s market insights and their strong track record in international business. In particular, their strategic investment and support will enable us to expand our operations into new markets—including through acquisitions—and ensure that we have the advanced infrastructure necessary to achieve this objective.”

Cinven, founded in 1977 and headquartered in London, UK, is an international private equity firm. Cinven primarily invests in companies with strategic growth potential, covering sectors such as financial services, healthcare, industrials, and media, and has currently invested in 15 international and regional companies.

(Compiled by He Li)