CVC Capital expands ingredients portfolio with Irca acquisition from Advent International
The transaction will see CVC Capital Partners IX acquire Irca, the global B2B manufacturer of speciality food ingredient solutions.
ITALY – CVC Capital Partners, a global private equity firm, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Irca, a prominent B2B manufacturer of speciality food ingredient solutions, from rival investment firm Advent International.
The transaction, executed through CVC Capital Partners IX (Fund IX), marks one of the year’s most significant mergers within the European consumer and food sectors.
While the companies did not publicly disclose the exact financial terms of the deal, market sources familiar with the negotiations estimate the transaction values the dessert and bakery ingredients manufacturer at approximately €2.5 billion to €3.0 billion (US$2.85 billion to US$3.42 billion).
Headquartered in Italy, Irca specializes in producing value-added ingredients and semi-finished products for the pastry, bakery, chocolate, and ice cream markets.
The company operates a highly diversified global manufacturing and distribution network that features 19 production facilities and a portfolio of more than 7,000 products.
Irca serves an expansive customer base across artisanal shops, foodservice operators, and industrial food manufacturing channels, supplying entities ranging from small local bakeries and gelato parlors to large international foodservice operators and multinational food manufacturing brands in over 100 countries.
The deal for the Italian dessert ingredients supplier comes about a month after the private equity firm purchased IFF’s ingredients business for US$4.3 billion.
Under Advent International’s four-year stewardship, which began in 2022 following an acquisition from the Carlyle Group, Irca experienced a massive corporate transformation.
The company scaled its operations aggressively through organic investment and targeted acquisitions, including the strategic purchase of Kerry Group’s sweet ingredients business in 2023, as well as the artisanal fruit-and-nut firms Cesarin and Anastasi Group.
These initiatives expanded Irca’s geographic footprint, particularly within the United States, and catapulted the group’s annual revenues from €370 million (US$422.17M) in 2021 to approximately €1.5 billion (US$1.71B) today.
Following the formal completion of the transaction, which is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is projected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, CVC plans to work closely with Irca’s existing management team, led by Chief Executive Officer Massimo Garavaglia.
CVC intends to leverage its extensive network and deep expertise in Europe and the United States to drive Irca’s next phase of global expansion.
Corporate strategies will focus heavily on enhancing operational excellence across the manufacturing supply chain, investing in product innovation, and pursuing selective, complementary add-on acquisitions to accelerate penetration across the broader EMEA and North American food ingredients markets.
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