Private equity firm True Link acquires coffee syrup maker Leonce Magnus for $1 billion
Leonce Magnus specializes in fruit raw materials and beverage raw materials, and its products cover coffee flavored syrups, smoothie special fruit purees, etc. Lyons brand strawberry and caramel dessert spreads on supermarket shelves TrueLink Capital officially announced on Monday that it has completed the acquisition of Lyons Magnus, a flavoring ingredient and beverage manufacturer. The consideration for this transaction has not been officially disclosed. Including the debt of the underlying company, the overall valuation of the transaction is approximately US$1 billion. Lyons Magnus is headquartered in California, USA, and its corporate history can be traced back to 1852. Its products include coffee syrups, smoothie bases, ice cream toppings, nutritional drinks and various fruit purees. Its catering customers include chain restaurants, major coffee shops and other catering service providers. This time, TrueLink, a Los Angeles-based private equity acquisition agency, completed the acquisition of the company from private equity firm Paine Schwartz Partners. Paine Schwartz acquired Leonce Magnus in 2017. After taking over, Lyons Magnus successively acquired several small peer assets (including some business segments of Hormel Foods), continued to expand the commercial raw materials business, and expanded its customer base to the medical and health field. Since 2017, Leonce Magnus’ annual revenue has nearly doubled and now exceeds $1 billion. TrueLink is a mid-market private equity institution whose investment track focuses on commercial services and industrial sectors. The company just completed raising US$2 billion for its latest fund in March this year. Paine Schwartz has long-term investment in sustainable food industry chains. His investment portfolio also includes cold-pressed juice manufacturer Suja Life and plant-based dough manufacturer Urban Farmer. The sale of Lyons Magnus is also one of the many recent mergers and acquisitions in the food ingredients industry: In May this year, International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) finalized an agreement to sell its food ingredients business to private equity giant CVC Capital. Including debt, the business segment was valued at more than US$4 billion. The following month, the US food and beverage ingredient company Ingredion acquired British counterpart Tate & Lyle for US$3.6 billion.