DC Advisory advised Nagatanien Holdings on the acquisition of Chaucer Foods

Founded in 1953 and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Nagatanien Holdings Co., Ltd (Nagatanien) is a leading Japanese food ingredient company which specialises in instant and freeze-dried Japanese food and has a market capitalisation of c. ¥50bn/£350m.

Chaucer Foods (Chaucer) was established in 1980 and is headquartered in Hull, UK. It is a global supplier of health and wellness ingredients that are used diversely across food and beverage (F&B) categories.

In August 2016, DC Advisory (DC) and Daiwa Securities (Daiwa) were jointly mandated to provide M&A advice to Nagatanien on the acquisition of Chaucer.

The DC/Daiwa team ran a focused M&A process, assisting Nagatanien in valuing the company, conducting due diligence and commercial negotiations as well as overseeing legal drafting.

The acquisition was signed and announced on 2 December 2016 following a period of exclusivity, which resulted in Nagatanien acquiring 100% of the share capital of Chaucer for an enterprise value of $130m.

This acquisition is highly strategic for Nagatanien as it marks an important step in the company’s aim of expanding its global footprint while strengthening its engagement with leading blue chip brands across F&B.