Avallon MBO sells shares in Hortimex to Azelis Group – fourth exit of the fund in 2024

• The next exit of the Avallon MBO fund – the private equity fund based in Lodz has sold its share package in Hortimex, a company specialising in implementing specialist raw materials for the food industry.
• The buyer is an industry investor – the Azelis group based in Antwerp. This is a global provider of innovative services in the specialty chemical raw materials and food additives industries.
• This is the fourth exit of Avallon in 2024. This year, the fund has already sold its shares in Wosana, Marketplanet, and EDC Expert.

The private equity fund Avallon MBO has sold a majority share package in Hortimex. This family company, in operation since 1988, acts as a salesforce in Poland for global manufacturers of advanced food raw materials, facilitating their interaction with potential clients – food producers in Poland.Azelis, an international group, has taken over 100% of Hortimex’s shares, thus increasing its involvement in Poland.

Avallon invested in Hortimex in April 2022. In the year preceding the transaction, the company generated about PLN 86 million in revenue. Now, with Avallon’s active support, Hortimex is a significantly larger and even more profitable organisation.

In line with our strategy for the company, we focused on an experienced and cohesive team under the leadership of Mateusz Kowalewski, a shareholder and successor of the firm. His market knowledge and readiness to cooperate, combined with our capital and know-how, has resulted in growing financial results – says Izabela Ciąćka, the investment manager at Avallon MBO. She adds; We achieved our common financial goals with a clear surplus while maintaining the team and effectively rationalising processes and exploring new market opportunities.

Hortimex’s progress in recent quarters can be seen in numbers: In 2023, the company reported over PLN 130 million in revenue, at a significantly higher margin than a few years ago. The company has expanded its offering with numerous new products and prominently marked its presence in new categories, e.g. collagen. The company currently serves over 800 active customers.

This year, Hortimex does not slow down its offensive and pace of growth – its valuation reflects this. Due to increased interest in the company from investors, we decided that it’s a perfect time for us to achieve a high return on investment in a short – as for private equity – time. It is also the next exit of a company from Avallon’s portfolio, proving that our investments attract the attention of the largest, global conglomerates. Recently, we have seen this scenario play out with Wosana (Japanese DyDo) and Marketplanet (Byggfakta) – emphasizes Marcin Konarski, a Partner at Avallon MBO.

Mateusz Kowalewski, the CEO of Hortimex, underlines that the fund’s support significantly contributed to the company’s current success. – Thanks to our consistent strategy of expanding the product portfolio and acquiring new partners, Hortimex has significantly increased its sales and profitability. Avallon’s support in the area of reporting and monitoring key operational and financial indicators helped us elevate the company to a higher level. We are pleased that the efforts of the whole team have been noticed by a reputable, international investor. We expect that under Azelis’s wing, Hortimex will continue to grow – asserts Mateusz Kowalewski.

After the sale of Hortimex and earlier exits this year, including from Wosana and Marketplanet, Avallon’s portfolio will include 7 other companies: Clovin – a company producing cleaning products, Norlys – a premium-class external lighting producer, Letniskowo – a mobile home manufacturer, MPPK Group – an owner and provider of pet food brands, TES – a producer of machinery and electrical components used, among others, in conventional and renewable energy, S’portofino – SAT, owner of the S’portofino brand and a leader in selling premium clothes and accessories in Poland, and Globema – a provider of geospatial software, IT products and services . In the meantime, Avallon actively seeks new investment opportunities. The Avallon MBO III fund has gathered a total of 137 million EUR for this purpose.