Alantra advised Argos Wityu, Crédit Mutuel Equity and the Barral family on the sale of La Compagnie Des Desserts to PAI Partners

Feb 2023

Sell-side advisory & debt financing

Paris – Alantra, the global independent investment banking and asset management specialist, has advised Argos Wityu, Crédit Mutuel Equity, and the Barral family, who founded La Compagnie des Desserts (LCDD), on the sale of the company to PAI Partners.

Headquartered in France, La Compagnie des Desserts creates, produces and distributes artisanal ice creams and premium frozen pastries for the professional restaurant industry. The company serves more than 23,000 customers in Europe, mainly in France, Spain and the United Kingdom, and operates seven production sites and six logistics platforms.

Since taking a stake in the company in 2016, Argos Wityu has worked closely with the management team. Over this period, the company’s revenue and staff have nearly doubled to €117 million and to more than 700 people, respectively. La Compagnie des Desserts successfully replicated its business model in the UK, Spain, Portugal and Belgium, expanded into Switzerland and the US, and grew in the UK, Spain and France through three strategic acquisitions.

PAI Partners, through its Mid-Market Fund, will work with LCDD to strengthen its market share, optimize its territorial footprint and accelerate its international expansion, both organically and through acquisitions, in order to become a pan-European leader in premium frozen desserts.

Oriane Durvye, Managing Partner at Alantra in Paris, said: “We are delighted to have accompanied Argos Wityu, Crédit Mutuel Equity and the Barral family in the sale process to PAI Partners. I am certain that the management of La Compagnie des Desserts, led by Philippe Bonny and Sylvain Bertrand, will find in PAI Partners a new shareholder that will allow them to continue the tremendous development of the last years.”

The Alantra team advising the founders of La Compagnie des Desserts was comprised of Franck Portais, Oriane Durvye, Andrea Bossetti and Sylvain Charrier.