Cérélia - Sagard

Under the leadership of the management team, majority shareholder Sagard helped to create Cérélia by acquiring EuroDough from Sara Lee and then merging it with APM, its main competitor.

The reorganised amalgamation has become Europe’s leading manufacturer of pie and pizza dough sold under private labels.

The challenges of the project were to successfully carve EuroDough out of its large parent corporation, merge it with a family-owned business and then reorganise and streamline the new combination.

Our contribution

Completing a carve-out from a large manufacturing corporation.
Acquiring APM and managing the merger and integration projects.
Committing significant capital expenditure (€30 million).
Strengthening the management team and selling equity stakes to a large number of managers.
Professionalising the purchasing and finance functions and implementing an efficient financial reporting process.
Assigning a Sagard industrial advisor to support the company’s production manager.
Supporting the generation and analysis of acquisition opportunities, including a transaction carried out as part of our exit.

Successful outcomes

Orphan subsidiary transformed into a European market leader.
Corporate cultures successfully integrated in a very short time.
New synergies and improved margins.
Innovation platform developed.
Exit arrangements that created value for the partner chosen by the management team.

65%

growth in revenue

2,1x

growth in EBITDA