Advising Northern European growth equity investor on acquisition

We have advised Northern European growth equity investor, Verdane, on its majority acquisition of a portfolio of three companies from Langholm Capital: WoolOvers, Purity Soft Drinks and Lumene. Founded in 2003, Verdane partners with ambitious Northern European growth companies to help them scale their businesses to reach the next stage of international growth. The portfolio has combined run-rate revenues and EBITDA of approximately €155 million and €14 million respectively.

Founded in 1989, WoolOvers is a British lifestyle brand designing and selling quality natural knitwear in the UK, US, Germany and Australia.

Purity is a UK based leading manufacturer of juices and juice drinks with two brands: JuiceBurst, a natural juice drink and Firefly, a premium healthy botanical soft drink. 

Lumene is the leading natural beauty brand with Nordic roots, considered the industry pioneer in sustainability and Nordic preservation. It has an established presence in Finland, Sweden, Russia and the US, with expanding operations in the UK and China. 

Commenting on the transaction, corporate partner Alexandra Richardson said: "We are delighted to have supported Verdane on this exciting portfolio acquisition.  We have no doubt that the Verdane team will leverage its significant experience to help the businesses with their continued growth."

Emanuel Johnsson, Partner at Verdane in London, added: “We are very happy with this quite complex, yet constructive GP-to-GP led portfolio deal with Langholm. This transaction was tailored to address several stakeholders including Langholm, minority shareholders, existing debt providers, as well as the management teams in each of the three companies. We now look forward to partnering with the management teams and supporting them in the next phase of growth.”

The team was led by partners Alexandra Richardson and Emma Danks, with support from senior associate Alex Holden and associates Rebecca Le Flufy, Susanna Chen and Loye Oyedotun in the corporate team.