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Bridgepoint has appointed advisers to explore options including a sale for Vitamin Well, a Swedish drinks business that the UK-listed private equity group has owned for eight years.
The buyout group is working with investment bankers at Jefferies to weigh bringing on new owners or minority investors, according to people familiar with the matter.
The company generates roughly €150mn in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, and could be valued at more than €2bn, one of the people said.
Vitamin Well had annual revenues of roughly €500mn in the 2023 financial year, according to a person familiar with its performance.
Bridgepoint’s deliberations are at an early stage and no final decision has been reached, with no certainty of a deal, the people cautioned.
The decision to explore a sale comes as the buyout market is starting to heat up after a slow 18 months. Higher interest rates and valuation mismatches between buyers and sellers have meant private equity groups have struggled to sell assets or have paused striking new deals.
In recent weeks, buyout groups have struck a series of multibillion-dollar deals to buy assets from rivals including Cinven’s €4.9bn agreement to buy fund administrator Alter Domus from Permira and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice’s $4bn purchase of IT company Presidio from BC Partners.
Bridgepoint this month sold elite motorcycle race series MotoGP to Formula One owner Liberty Media for €4.2bn.
Launched in 2006 and based in Stockholm, Vitamin Well is a food and drinks business that manages three main brands: flavoured water Vitamin Well, energy drink Nocco and protein bar maker Barebells. The company’s products are sold in 40 markets worldwide and it has offices across Europe, the US and Asia.
The market for healthy food and drinks products has grown significantly in recent years, as health-conscious consumers seek alternatives to high-sugar snacks and fizzy drinks.
A sale would end Bridgepoint’s eight-year ownership of the company. Typically, private equity groups aim to hold assets for about five years.
Bridgepoint first invested in Vitamin Well in 2016 using money from Bridgepoint Development Capital, a unit that invests in companies worth up to £200mn.
It invested again in 2021, this time using money from a fund that typically backs larger businesses worth up to €1.5bn, according to the firm’s website.
Any sale would be a boost to Bridgepoint, whose performance-related earnings slumped to £55.3mn in 2023, down from £64.9mn in 2022 and £71mn in 2021.
Bridgepoint’s annual report attributed the decline to “reduced levels of exits in Bridgepoint funds”.
Jefferies and Bridgepoint declined to comment.
