France-based agri-food investor Unigrains has made its second investment in a month, backing Spanish ready-to-eat food producer Ñaming.
The deal comes fast on the heels of it announcing it was backing French dairy group Beillevaire.
The investment in Ñaming was carried out through its Unigrains Iberia arm.
Unigrains has been eyeing deals in Iberia after setting up an office in Madrid last year and its investment in Ñaming is its first in the region.
It has not disclosed the size of the stake it has made in the Spanish business, nor how much it has paid.
In a statement, Unigrains said it will support Ñaming’s development as an “active minority shareholder” alongside the sandwich maker's CEO, Jorge Miranda, and Italy’s DeA Capital Alternative Funds, its majority shareholder since July.
DeA Capital acquired majority control of Ñaming from Spain’s Talde Private Equity in a deal announced earlier this year.
Unigrains said Ñaming will be looking to focus on “organic growth, product innovation and the expansion of distribution channels”.
Founded in 1990 and headquartered in Mallén (Zaragoza), Ñaming, which employs 350 people, generated a turnover of €40m ($43.8m) in its last financial year. Its portfolio of ready-to-eat products ranges from sandwiches and snacks to salads, wraps, yogurts, cut fruit, smoothies and desserts.
Unigrains, which said it manages around €964m of investments, is planning for its Iberia arm to spend between €80m and €100m over five years in the capital of companies across the agri-food industry.
On this particular deal, Álvaro Hernández, CEO of Unigrains Iberia, said: “We are convinced of Ñaming’s potential as a highly performing Spanish leader in a dynamic market segment. We will leverage Unigrains’ resources, know-how and added value approach to support Ñaming going forward.”
Miranda added: “Unigrains is currently a partner to more than 80 agri-food companies across Europe and we have already identified several opportunities to explore together. I welcome Unigrains Iberia in the capital of our company and look forward to a strong collaboration around our common goals for our next stage of growth.”
