INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund, the leading private equity fund in the Baltics, has completed the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Galinta Group, one of the largest producers of buckwheat in Europe as well as one of the leading producers and traders of flakes, rice, and other groats in the Baltic region.
The transaction was completed after obtaining approval from the Competition Council of the Republic of Lithuania and fulfilling other preliminary conditions of the transaction.
“We have invested in a family business that has become an undisputed market leader over more than 25 years, and whose brands are well-known among consumers. The plant-based food sector has excellent prospects for rapid further growth, both by increasing volumes in existing markets and by expanding into new markets and product segments,” says Deimantė Korsakaitė, Managing Partner of INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund.
According to the Managing Partner, the fund aims to develop its companies into regional leaders, and therefore actively pursues other acquisitions in this sector. Economies of scale and potential synergies are essential conditions for ensuring business competitiveness on an international scale, modern and efficient production, and the creation and introduction of new and sustainable products to the market.
“The transfer of a family business which holds a significant position in the grain and groats production and trading business in the Baltic countries and Europe, to professional investors will undoubtedly create conditions for the Galinta Group to continue to grow successfully and strengthen its market position,” says former shareholder of Galinta Group, Marijus Mazuch.
The revenue of Galinta’s fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) activities in 2023 amounted to EUR 31 million euros. The company, which supplies products to major retail chains in the Baltic countries and Poland, has successfully increased its product exports in recent years. Last year, it also entered the Scandinavian market.
Aurimas Taraškevičius has been appointed as the new CEO of Galinta. For the last 13 years he had worked in the Commercial Department of the Sanitex Group, and recently held the position of a board member in Sanitex Group in Latvia and Estonia.
Galinta Group is now the 9th portfolio investment for the INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund. The launch of the INVL Private Equity Fund II has now been formally actioned, with the target of attracting EUR 250 million from investors. The maximum size of the Fund is EUR 400 million.
Galinta was advised by integrated business services group Noewe. The legal advisors of INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund were law firm TGS Baltic and its financial advisors were EY.
About INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund
With a size of EUR 165 million, the INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund the leading equity fund in the Baltics. The European Investment Fund (EIF) is its anchor investor.
The EIF, which is a part of the European Investment Bank, has committed EUR 30 million with the support of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (a key element of the Investment Plan for Europe, or the Junker Plan) whilst also allocating resources from the Baltic Innovation Fund, a “fund of funds” initiative developed in cooperation with the governments of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The initiative aims to increase capital investment in high-growth potential small and medium-sized enterprises in the Baltics.
The fund is focused on the Baltic countries and neighbouring regions including Poland, the Nordics, and Central Europe. After this investment, INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund has formed a diversified portfolio of nine companies. The fund has invested in companies to date, focusing on sectors including food processing, healthcare, medical rehabilitation, civil engineering, plastic recycling, environmental resource management, veterinary services, and the manufacturing of cosmetics and hygiene products.
The fund is managed by INVL Asset Management, the leading alternative asset manager in the Baltic States, which is part of the Invalda INVL Group, operating for more than 30 years. The group’s companies manage more than EUR 1 billion of assets across multiple asset classes including private equity, forests and agricultural land, renewable energy, real estate as well as private debt. The group’s scope of activities also includes family office services in Lithuania and Latvia, management of pension funds in Latvia, and investments in global third-party funds.
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