Israeli private equity firm Fortissimo Capital managed by its founder Yuval Cohen, is planning a flotation for food manufacturing company Sugat. Since acquiring control of Sugat, Fortissimo has enhanced the company.
Fortissimo, which last month completed the acquisition of telecom company Cellcom, has recently held a series of meetings with local underwriters and is considering Sugat's IPO at a company valuation of NIS 1 billion, but because of the war and current market conditions, the flotation is not likely to happen until the final quarter of 2024 or first half of 2025.
Sugat imports and produces a range of cooking ingredients including sugar, rice, cereals, breadcrumbs, and couscous. Its main factory is in Kiryat Gat and covers 100 dunams (25 acres). It was built in 1957 to produce sugar from beetroot, which was grown in the northern Negev. The company built a sugar refinery in 2009 but closed it down in 2018 due to changing global market conditions and currently imports sugar from around the world.
Fortissimo acquired Sugat in 2019 from an international company and has since sold land around its factory in Kiryat Gat and brought in a 20% equity partner in 2021 for NIS 160 million, reflecting a company valuation of NIS 800 million. Fortissimo has also expanded the company by acquiring companies producing cooking oils, poppy seeds, coffee and tahini.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 13, 2024.
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