Abénex was a valued partner to the Group when it was hit by the 1993 crisis, providing additional equity investment in 1994, creating a new syndicate of banks and restoring the confidence of our partners. They also supported me during the Group’s turnaround phase from 1995 onwards.

Abénex’s Operational Team enabled us to carry out a number of essential transformational projects more efficiently and in a more structured way. They took a pragmatic approach, working side by side with my team.

Abénex helped us to boost our external growth by working with us to identify potential acquisition targets, facilitating the dialogue and overseeing the acquisition process. Having Abénex as our partner in these processes was both reassuring and made the transactions more efficient.

Abénex has significant experience in developing pricing strategies and were able to assist us in designing and implementing a dynamic yield pricing system for different restaurant types.

With Abénex, we were able to successfully acquire De Dietrich in 2000 with the full confidence and agreement of our family shareholders. This enabled us to transfer all of the group’s former activities to new owners over a 4-year period while retaining historical manufacturing sites and know-how.

We worked with Abénex on over 20 acquisition targets in Europe, of which three international transactions successfully closed in France, Spain and Italy. A fourth process began under Abénex’s ownership and was finalised after Otsuka’s acquisition of the group.

Under private equity ownership, it’s essential to quickly arrive at a position of mutual understanding and trust. This was the case with Abénex who partnered with us on major decisions: increasing media spend, launching an organic brand and reorganising manufacturing operations in Spain...

Abénex provides valued support both in periods of rapid growth and consolidation. They were instrumental in helping us strengthen our management team and examine our manufacturing and operational efficiency.