UAE wealth fund ADIA scoops into $18B Haagen-Dazs owner Froneri
The UAE sovereign wealth fund has become a co-investor in Froneri in a deal valuing the global ice cream firm at about $18 billion.
A sovereign wealth fund from the United Arab Emirates is taking a bite out of the global ice cream market. In a deal announced Oct. 2, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority has become a co-investor in Froneri, the maker of Haagen-Dazs, alongside private equity group PAI Partners and a Goldman Sachs-led fund.
The transaction reportedly values Froneri at roughly $18 billion and gives Abu Dhabi a stake in a rising challenger to Unilever’s ice cream business, which has struggled in recent years.
Details: The $4.2 billion equity transaction creates a new ownership structure for PAI’s roughly 50% stake in Froneri, which it jointly owns with Nestle. As part of the restructuring, a subsidiary of ADIA has become a “significant minority” co-investor, per a press release.
Formed in 2016 through the merger of Nestle’s European ice cream business and PAI’s R&R Ice Cream, Froneri has since grown into a global player with $6.4 billion in annual revenue.
