PEP buys New Zealand's Manuka Health, Waterman exits

Manuka Health was founded in 2006 by CEO Kerry Paul in response to growing demand for premium manuka honey. It claims to be the first company globally to establish a scientific certification system for the honey, which is used to manufacture dietary supplements, gourmet foods, and personal care and wound care products.

Waterman, operating through its 2010 vintage second fund, which has a corpus of NZ$83 million ($52 million), acquired a 20% stake in Manuka Health in 2012. It provided expansion capital for a number of growth initiatives that resulted in a tripling in production volume following the construction of a new processing facility, a quadrupling in staff numbers, and R&D investment in product development.

Revenue grew from NZ$17 million in 2012 to approximately NZ$70 million for the current financial year, Waterman said in a statement.

Under PEP's ownership, the company will continue to expand internationally. It is already presence in more than 40 countries but has identified China, the US, Australia, New Zealand and Japan as key growth markets. There will also be product category expansion in the wound and personal care segments.

"Manuka Health is an exceptional business in the high growth natural healthcare sector which is underpinned by a number of compelling macro trends including increasing nutritional health awareness and a rise in consumer affluence," David Brown, managing director at PEP, said in a statement.

PEP has previously in consumer products businesses such as Griffin's Foods, Tegel Enterprises, Frucor and Peters Ice Cream. The GP - which is expected to announce a final close of $2.1 billion on its fifth fund imminently - was recently linked to another New Zealand-based asset, Academic Colleges Group.

The Manuka Health deal still requires approval from New Zealand's Overseas Investment Office. PwC and Chapman Tripp advised Manuka Health on the transaction, while PEP worked with UBS and Russell McVeagh.

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• Consumer
• Australasia
• buyout
• Pacific Equity Partners
• Consumer
• New Zealand
• Exit
• Waterman Capital