Egeria acquieres majority stake in Dutch Bakery

The investment of Egeria marks the end of the active role played by the Amsterdam investment fund Standard Investment since 2014, when it became shareholder of Dutch Bakery. According to Guido Grobbink, partner at Standard Investment, the transaction is a logical step for Dutch Bakery. “When we invested in Dutch Bakery three years ago, we had a clear vision of how the company could develop. In close collaboration with the management, we realized stepping stones like the carve-out and the subsequent turnaround of the home bake-off division of Bakkersland, and the acquisition of competitors like PB BAKE OFF and Tjendrawasih.” This, as well as product development and the streamlining of the organization, has allowed Dutch Bakery to consolidate its leading role on the Dutch market, and to take its first steps towards internationalization. Grobbink: “I think our vision and approach have been very good for Dutch Bakery’s ambitions during the past years. The company is on the verge of a new, vital phase, and I am positive that Egeria will infuse it with enormous added value over the coming years.”

Dutch Bakery’s management expects that the knowledge, experience, and extensive network of the new shareholder will help boost international development, to deepen the product portfolio, and to reinforce category management. Rob Verhoef, CEO of Dutch Bakery: “We’ve grown fast the past years, also thanks to the participation of Standard Investment, and I am extremely grateful for it towards all people involved. Thanks to its know-how and experience, at this point in time Egeria is the best partner imaginable to reinforce our position in the Netherlands, and to further grow abroad.”

Floris Waage, partner at Egeria: “We had been tracking Dutch Bakery for quite a while, and we see many opportunities, for instance through the broadening of the product range and continued internationalization. We believe that our experience obtained through our past participations in Izico, Ad van Geloven, Royal Sanders, and United Dutch Breweries and our international network can contribute to the achievement of these objectives.”

The management of Dutch Bakery will continue as shareholders; Rob Verhoef, Boele de Jong, and Ron Muijen will continue to operate as the executives of the company after the transaction as well. Also Jefrem Schapendonk, grandson of the founder of Dutch Bakery, will remain involved after the transaction as a shareholder and director of the company. Dutch Bakery and its shareholders has been adviced by Houlihan Lokey, Lexence, The Boston Consulting Group, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Egeria has been advised by Allen&Overy, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Deloitte.

About Dutch Bakery

Dutch Bakery is the Netherlands market leader in bake-off bread and bread-based snacks. The company was founded in 1936 by the grandfather of one of the current shareholders, and it has bakeries in Alkmaar, Eindhoven, Rijen, Tilburg, Waalwijk, and a recently acquired bakery for Indonesian layer cake in Budel. About 400 people work at Dutch Bakery, which generates a turnover of 100 million euros annually. The company is specialized in consumer bake-off bread, and it annually bakes nearly a billion rolls, including mini-baguettes, Kaiser buns, croissants, baguette, sausage rolls, and pastry with sausage filling. The products of Dutch Bakery are sold to major supermarket organisations both in the Netherlands and abroad.

Also see: www.dutchbakery.nl

About Egeria
Egeria is an independent Dutch investment fund which focuses on healthy, well-managed and mid-sized companies which either are Dutch or have a link to the Netherlands. Egeria generally invests in companies with a business value of between 50 and 350 million euros, aiming to create long-term value for all stakeholders through cooperation with management, and on the basis of mutual respect and trust, with the purpose of further development and growth of the company. At the moment, Egeria manages assets to the amount of over 1.7 billion euros.
Also see: www.egeria.nl

About Standard Investment
Standard Investment from Amsterdam is an investment fund which focuses on Netherlands and Belgian small and mid-sized businesses. Founded in 2004, the company upholds the value of direct involvement in the businesses it participates in. Standard Investment has shares in companies like Synres, Dierenartsengroep Nederland, Aweta, Flatfield, KeyMusic, and Burger King Nederland. Recently, Standard Investment and FrieslandCampina reached an agreement on the acquisition of FrieslandCampina Riedel B.V., the manufacturer of brands such as Appelsientje, CoolBest, DubbelFrisss, DubbelDrank, Taksi, and Extran. The transaction is expected to be concluded before the end of the year. With its team of eleven professionals, Standard Investment manages a portfolio of sixteen companies, totaling a staff of over 4,000, and a combined turnover of about 550 million euros.
Also see: www.standard.nl