Branded Super Premium Pet Food Company
Turnover >€120m
Delivered €2.8m of savingsEuropean based super premium pet food business supplying into specialist channels across multiple markets and brands. The complex portfolio had grown with limited understanding of the cost drivers and the brief was to deliver a professionalised procurement operation, alongside hard benefits to the P&L. The programme included training and development of the supply chain team, cross functional working to establish agreed KPIs for SKUs, the detailed data deep dive to isolate the rationalisation programme and then critically, leadership of the tender process for the new portfolio. This project worked with other industry professionals and liaised directly with the business CEO, CMO and COO as well as embedding with operational business managers. Commercial terms were structured around both fees and bonus based on successful delivery.
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Global Asset Management Company
Assets under management >$1T
Delivered a multi-phased assessment with identified investment thesisWorking with the European investment team of a significant global firm in three key phases: first to assess the entire product and services value within Europe, second to filter down to the attractive sectors and finally to identify target companies and prepare the investment thesis. The work covered both qualitative and quantitative analysis, consumer (pet owner) surveys, customer (retailer) interviews, a significant veterinary services survey (veterinary professionals across Europe) as well as drawing on the M2 database of companies and benchmark projects. Notably the project triggered a number of ancillary pieces of work to answer specific questions arising e.g. a quantitative assessment of the re-homing charities and the impact on pet stock. The client post project have addressed the pet sector and continue to use M2 for DD support. M2 has also worked with other teams within the primary company.
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Switzerland Small to Mid Cap Private Equity Firm
Assets under management €900m
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Deliver a rapid view on a target company; recommendation to withdrawThe client had completed DD but needed more specific sector knowledge. M2 brought in to overview the work to date and also complete a more detailed competitor analysis. Against a time-limited deadline, M2 reviewed the DD material and identified a number of additional ‘red flag issues’. The competitor analysis (CDMOs in DACH) clarified the SWOT and ultimately led to the client with-drawing from the investment round. The firm subsequently failed to sell during the process.
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European Mid Cap Private Equity Firm
Assets under management €14b
Supplementary Technical DD; sale process terminatedDuring Commercial DD, the client had identified materials in the company data-warehouse suggesting that some recipes did not match with the nutritional declarations on the packaging. M2 assessed the project from three aspects; independent laboratory results versus the legal declaration requirements, a statistical assessment of the production capability to meet the declarations, recipe and raw material specification inspection to isolate whether the issue was structural or an anomaly. The investigation flagged that the business model was structurally unsound (simply put, cheaper sourced raw materials would not deliver the product declarations at the COGS to support the P&L). The client withdrew from the process as the tax and legal liabilities were significant and the forecast business plan was unsound.
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Global Private Equity Firm
Assets under management $89b
Commercial DDCorporate divestment of multi-national private label manufacturing business. M2 embedded in client DD team to review materials, prepare management questions, add commentary to DD documents, visit production plants (assess capacity and capability), prioritise red flag investigations, guide investment committee. In parallel, prepared the revised value creation plan (VCP) indicating upsides post-acquisition. Following the sale (€188m EV) M2 were retained to work with the company management team to revise the business plan in line with VCP. This was completed, the company was then sold for €315m.
