Clayton, Dubilier & Rice to Acquire German-Headquartered Kalle, the Innovative Meat and Poultry Casings Supplier to Global Food Industry

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Apr 29, 2016, 07:00 ET

LONDON, April 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Clayton, Dubilier & Rice today announced an agreement under which CD&R-managed funds will acquire Kalle GmbH, one of the world's leading industrial manufacturers of artificial casings for the meat processing industry. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Kalle manufactures and supplies casings for the protein-processing industry, including pork, beef, poultry and vegetarian protein categories. With operations across nine countries, the company generated 2015 revenues of more than €281 million from customers in 100 countries, producing more than 850 million meters of casings for a wide range of meat, poultry, and other protein products. It is the global leader in the value-added and viscose sausage casings sectors and the second largest manufacturer of polymer casings.

CD&R Partner Sonja Terraneo added: "Our investment model is based on helping businesses grow profitably. We have been following Kalle's progress for many years and look forward to working with Kalle's talented management and employees to continue its strong sales and profit growth and to make the company an even more valuable enterprise over the long term."

CD&R Partner Vindi Banga, former member of the Unilever Executive Board, will assume the role of Chairman of Kalle at the close of the transaction, expected around the end of the first half of 2016.

"Kalle is a proven innovator with a highly differentiated offering to customers which improves product quality and production processes – this is particularly apparent in the value-added casings segment where Kalle pioneered the category and is the global leader today," said Mr. Banga. "We believe Kalle is well-positioned to capitalize on its growth momentum, strong product mix and exceptional R&D capabilities to further penetrate the global market."

"Kalle is a resilient market leader and growing business with a strong German heritage and excellent customer exposure globally, particularly in the growing US market," said CD&R Partner David Novak. "It is also a great fit with CD&R's focus on both consumer and industrial businesses in Europe, which have global reach, as well as our deep industry experience in foodservice."

Bank of Ireland, ING, UniCredit, BNP, HSBC, SG, CACIB, SMBC and Oaktree have committed to providing debt financing for the transaction. Freshfields and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP acted as legal advisors and PwC and William Blair acted as financial advisors to CD&R.

About Clayton, Dubilier & Rice

Founded in 1978, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice invests in European and U.S-based businesses. Since inception, CD&R has managed the investment of $21 billion in 66 companies representing a broad range of industries with an aggregate transaction value of approximately $100 billion, including foodservice industry market leaders Alliant Foodservice, Brakes Group and US Foods. CD&R acquired Germany-based Mauser in 2014. The Firm has offices in London and New York. For more information, visit www.cdr-inc.com.

About Kalle

The Kalle Group, based in Wiesbaden, Germany, is one of the world's leading suppliers of industrially produced casings for meat, poultry, and other protein products. In addition to its innovative range of value-added casings, it creates a steady stream of new and customized solutions that enable new types of products. Over the past 20 years, Kalle has enjoyed strong, sustained and profitable growth. Today, it is using its technological and innovative edge to accelerate the pace of development – both in existing markets and in many emerging markets in Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.kalle-group.com.

SOURCE Clayton, Dubilier & Rice