The Lavazza group announces the entry into the share capital of Kicking Horse Coffee, taking over the private equity fund Swander Pace Capital, which had entered in 2012 in partnership with Jefferson Capital and United Natural Foods. Kicking Horse Coffee, Canadian leader in the organic and fair trade coffee segment, has stood out in recent years for its extraordinary growth both in Canada and in the US. With this operation, Lavazza acquires 80% of the company, valued at a total of 215 million Canadian dollars. Elana Rosenfeld, who founded the company in 1996, will remain a shareholder in the company with a 20% stake and will continue to lead it as CEO. 'Kicking Horse represents one of those 'local jewels' that the Lavazza group continues to seek as part of its globalization and premium positioning strategy - comments Antonio Baravalle, CEO of the Lavazza group and future chairman of the board of Kicking Horse Coffee - Today organic and fair trade coffee is one of the main trends both internationally and in North America in particular.
The operation, explains Lavazza, represents a important step for the development strategy in North America, considered a key market for the Italian group. In line with the recent operations of Carte Noire and Merrild, Lavazza intends to enhance the brand equity of Kicking Horse Coffee in this case as well, sharing its skills and values
'Kicking Horse Coffee has always stood out for the quality of the coffee, combined with the values of sustainability'. Lavazza shares this vision and in this Group we have found the perfect partner to support growth and make our coffee known throughout the world,' commented Elana Rosenfeld, co-founder and CEO of Kicking Horse Coffee. Lavazza has just presented the best figures ever to the market with a record revenue of 1,9 billion euros. With this acquisition, the group continues its path of continuous growth and international diversification, consolidating its position among the leaders in the global market. 'We proudly welcome Kicking Horse Coffee to our Group - comments the Lavazza family - Confident that we can contribute, with our experience of more than 120 years on coffee, to the further development of a company very similar to us"
Lavazza was assisted in this transaction by the law firm Blake Cassels & Graydon of Toronto, by JPMorgan as financial advisor, by Boston Consulting Group as strategic advisor, by PWC for tax and accounting matters.
