Fremman Capital acquires majority stake in The Natural Fruit Company

Pan-European investment firm Fremman Capital has closed the acquisition of a majority stake in Spanish fruit processor The Natural Fruit Company (TNFC) from GPF Capital and Blacklabel Investments.

The financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.

TNFC is engaged in the processing, distribution, and commercialisation of citrus fruits such as lemons, oranges, tangerines, pomegranates, and persimmons.

With a total fruit processing capacity of 400ktpa, TNFC operates eight processing facilities in Spain and a logistics facility in Perpignan, France.

It controls 900ha of plantations across Spain.

TNFC co-CEOs Fernando Castelló Naya and Francisco Marin jointly said: “As strong believers in the business and compelling future, we are happy to continue backing TNFC in the long-term, and to welcome Fremman Capital into this new chapter together.”

The majority stake acquisition in TNFC aligns with Fremman’s approach to environmental, social and governance (ESG). The fruit processor is claimed to be a leading player in organic varieties, limited processing and practices a zero-waste approach.

Fremman founding partner and CEO Ricardo de Serdio said: “We are very pleased with the agreement reached with selling shareholders, and that GPF Capital will continue to be highly involved.

“GPF has done an excellent job as shareholder integrating three companies in less than two years, including backing a superb management team where all the main managers are very relevant shareholders, as well as growing the business significantly above market.

“We are confident that Fremman’s team’s expertise in business services and consumer goods, consolidation processes and ESG focus will support the management team to continue creating value in the future, through organic and inorganic growth.”

For Fremman Capital, Attalea served as the adviser in this deal for ESG; Ernst & Young for financial, legal, labour and tax; Greenhill for mergers and acquisitions (M&A); and Jhasa for insurance; Perez Llorca for legal; and Roland Berger for commercial.

Lazard served as the M&A adviser and Uria Menendez as the legal adviser for GPF Capital and Blacklabel Investments.