General Atlantic takes majority in Joe & the Juice

While we’ve reported plenty of activity in the sectors of food, catering and even restaurants, deals involving cafes are definitely more novel. General Atlantic has agreed to acquire a majority stake in a Danish juice and coffee shop chain Joe & the Juice.

Exits continue to trickle in slow and steady, and this morning we have one by Ardian. The firm has agreed to sell its stake in a computer-aided production systems provider to EMZ Partners.

To finish today, we’ll take a look at an add-on in the forging and manufacturing segment, as Wise Equity’s Special Flanges will acquire 100 percent of Hertecant Flanges.

Juicy deal 

What better way to start a Monday than writing about fresh juice and coffee. General Atlantic has agreed to acquire a majority interest in Joe & the Juice from Valedo Partners.

The Copenhagen-headquartered juice and coffee shop chain is not new to General Atlantic, as the firm made a minority growth investment in the business in 2016.

Valedo will fully exit its investment in the company. The Swedish investment company bought into Joe & the Juice in 2013. Joe & the Juice’s revenues grew by over 15x from over DKr150 million to around DKr2.3 billion ($330 million; €308 million) during Valedo’s investment period.

Joe & the Juice plans to focus on continued international expansion in key markets, particularly in the US, where it now has around 70 stores, up from fewer than five at the time of GA’s initial investment, according to a release. It sees growth opportunities in additional international markets, including the UK and Europe, Middle East, Asia and Latin America.

GA’s investment will also be used to reduce debt on the company’s balance sheets, the release said.

“Joe & the Juice reflects broader secular trends of convenience and healthy living, while also possessing a brand which resonates with customers in multiple markets,” said Melis Kahya Akar, managing director and head of consumer for EMEA at GA. “We see further runway to double down on our commitment and unlock the business’ full potential.”

For those keen to read more about juice, I recommend checking out Craig McGlashan’s story on Columna Capital’s investment in Zumex, a fresh fruit- and vegetable-squeezing and processing machines producer.

We’ve also got more on healthy living trends. My colleague over on PE Hub, Iris Dorbian, recently wrote about private equity’s interest in the “better-for-you” food sector. You can find that story here.

Dental exit

We keep writing about how the exit market seems slow but exits do still pop up steadily. Ardian has agreed to sell its stake in imes-icore to EMZ Partners.

Imes-icore is a digital dental computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing production systems provider. The company is based in Hessen, Germany.

Under Ardian’s ownership, imes-icore has evolved from a developer of CNC-CAD/CAM systems and industrial machines to a service provider focused exclusively on the dental sector, according to a release.

“Imes-icore has taken full advantage of its strategic and technological opportunities in recent years,” said Marc Abadir, managing director at Ardian. “The company has consolidated its position in a fragmented market environment and expanded its global reach into the USA and Asia via acquisitions and strategic investments.”

Ardian invested in Imes-icore in 2017.

Imes-icore’s employees increased from around 130 in 2017 to more than 270. It also acquired Pritidenta in Germany, PM-Technologies in the US and a stake in the i-ProDens milling center in Germany. It has more than doubled its revenue since 2017 and is present at three locations in Europe, the US and Asia.

For more on automation, take a look at my story on Stanley Capital’s strategic investment in hyper-automation services provider Roboyo.

Strong as steel

Before signing off, let’s take a look at one more deal. Special Flanges, a portfolio company of Wise Equity, will acquire 100 percent of shares in Hertecant Flanges from PMV and Down2Earth Capital.

Hertecant Flanges is a forging and machining manufacturer of stainless steel and Ni-alloy components and is based in Westerlo, Belgium.

The investment will be made via Wisequity V fund.

The deal will create substantial value, both in terms of product portfolio range and geographic coverage, and will allow the combined group to strengthen its market position with around €100 million in revenues, over 80 percent of which generated outside Italy, according to a release.

“The two companies have a great fit and we believe the group has strong foundations to continue its growth path and further enhance its positioning also thanks to the value generation coming from potential synergies,” said Paolo Zucchi, investment manager at Wise Equity.

Wise Equity acquired Special Flanges in 2021.

Special Flanges is a special forged component manufacturer based in Lombardy, Italy.