Haudecoeur, the French leader in the procurement, production and distribution of ethnic food (“the Company”), is pleased to announce today that it will continue its partnership with Apheon as a majority shareholder to support its growth ambitions. Apheon will sell its stake to an Apheon-controlled vehicle, remaining as a majority shareholder and extending its ownership period in the Company. The process will also bring LFPI into the capital structure as a minority investor. The Haudecoeur family, along with its management team, will reinvest meaningfully into the Company, signalling its continued commitment to this next chapter in Haudecoeur’s growth.
Haudecoeur is the undisputable French leader in the procurement, production and distribution of ethnic food. Haudecoeur offers a wide range of products such as specialized rice, starches, spices, dry fruits, pulses, with over 1,500 SKUs, sold under strong and well-known brands (e.g., Riz du Monde, Samia, Légumor, Profruit, La Pastilla, Tantie, etc.). The Company benefits from an excellent positioning vis-à-vis specialized groceries/shops, hyper and supermarkets as well as with end customers. The Company also leverages a solid industrial base in La Courneuve and several warehousing sites in the Paris area and the South of France.
Since Apheon’s initial investment in Haudecoeur in July 2019, the Company has transformed into a European market leader in the procurement, production and distribution of ethnic food, and more than doubled revenues to c. €280 million. This transformation was driven by organic growth initiatives, the reinforcement of the broader management team and several add-on acquisitions, including the acquisitions of Palais Impérial in 2020, Coexo in 2021, and Cepasco in 2024.
With the new capital structure and backing by Apheon and LFPI, Haudecoeur will have additional capital and an extended time horizon to focus on extending its exceptional growth journey. The Company has plans to execute meaningful acquisitions in strategic European geographies, while continuing to position itself strategically to capitalize on favorable underlying market and demographic trends.
The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals.
Jean-Jacques Caspari, CEO of Haudecoeur, and Christelle Le Hir, Vice-Chairman, commented: “We are very proud of what we achieved over the last five years. The entire management team is excited to have Apheon as continuing majority shareholder, further supported by LFPI and the Haudecoeur family, and remains fully motivated to pursue together further organic and inorganic growth opportunities for Haudecoeur.”
Wolfgang de Limburg, Managing Partner of Apheon, commented, “After five years of successful development at Haudecoeur, we are enthusiastic to further support Haudecoeur’s ambitious growth strategy, and are committed to building the leading European player in ethnic food. We think this new structure will provide the capital, the time and the tools to achieve our and management’s ambitions. We are also very enthusiastic to partner with LFPI, a renowned private equity investor, who will bring its strong expertise and additional means to the table. The significant reinvestment of the Haudecoeur family in the transaction also illustrates our unique DNA at Apheon when it comes to partnering with founders and families over the long term.”
Olivier Lange, President of LFPI Gestion, commented, “We have closely followed the remarkable development of Haudecoeur in recent years and are delighted to join forces with Apheon to support its ambitious new growth plan. Leveraging its unique market positioning, strong brands and robust commercial and logistical organization, Haudecoeur is well-positioned to drive strong organic growth and consolidate the fragmented European market through a bold acquisition plan. We are thrilled to bring our expertise and support the outstanding management team throughout this journey.”
Rothschild & Co and Raphaël Financial Advisory acted as advisors to Apheon on the transaction. Rabobank acted as sole advisor to LFPI on the transaction.
About Haudecoeur
Founded in 1932, Haudecoeur is the indisputable French leader in the procurement, production and distribution of ethnic food, dedicated to customers of Maghrebi, Asian, African, Antillean origins. Haudecoeur offers a wide range of products such as specialized rice, starches, spices, dry fruits, pulses, etc. (>1,500 SKUs), sold under strong and well-known brands (e.g., Riz du Monde, Samia, Légumor, Profruit, La Pastilla, Tantie, etc.). The Group benefits from an excellent positioning vis-à-vis specialized groceries/shops, hyper and supermarkets as well as with end customers. The Group also leverages a solid industrial base in La Courneuve and several warehousing sites in the Paris area and the South of France. For more information, please visit www.haudecoeur.fr
About Apheon
Apheon is a pan-European mid-market private equity investment company managing ~€3 billion of assets from select global institutional investors and families. Apheon is characterized by its partnership approach, providing “patient and friendly capital” and industrial know-how to entrepreneurs and management teams, preparing their companies for the future. Through its pan-European footprint, the firm acts as a gateway into Europe for companies in the mid-market. Since its founding in 2005, Apheon has raised more than €3.8 billion in capital, invested in ~40 companies across Europe and completed ~200 add-on acquisitions for a total aggregate transaction value in excess of €7 billion. Apheon’s current portfolio consists of ~20 companies across its target sectors, representing ~€3 billion sales and ~22,000 employees. Apheon is advised by Apheon Advisors which has offices in Brussels, Milan, Madrid, Paris, Munich and Amsterdam. For more information, please visit www.apheon.com
About LFPI
LFPI is a leading independent, multi-strategy alternative asset manager with more than 28 billion euros of assets under management across Europe and North America. Initially focused on private equity in France, LFPI steadily expanded into complementary businesses internationally through dedicated local teams. LFPI is now active in Private Equity (direct investments and funds of funds), Private Debt, Real Estate, Asset Management (Mandarine Gestion), Family Office & Wealth Management for French clients (Meeschaert Gestion Privée). LFPI Group’s investment strategy is prudent and responsible, generally deployed through diversified vehicles, aiming to achieve satisfactory returns over the medium and long term while promoting ESG principles. LFPI Group has over 450 professionals across 10 offices in Europe, the United States and in Asia, as well as 9 branches in France.
For more information, please visit www.lfpi.fr
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For more information, please contact:
Apheon
Natalia Yek, Head of Investor Relations
ny@apheon.com
T: +32 2 213 60 90
LFPI
Aurélien Lequertier, Director of Investor Relations
aurelien.lequertier@lfpi.fr
T: +33 6 09 87 03 29
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