Trigon (IMAP Poland) advised on the sale of a majority stake in Velvet CARE to Abris Capital Partners

On 27 February 2018, AVALLON signed an agreement to sell a majority stake in Velvet CARE, Poland’s leading manufacturer of personal care products, to Abris Capital Partners.

Trigon acted as the sole financial advisor to AVALLON and Velvet CARE Management.

Velvet CARE is Poland's leading manufacturer of branded, tissue-based personal care products, including hand tissues, toilet paper and kitchen paper towels, and is the owner of the Velvet brand in Poland and the CEE region. Velvet CARE looks back at 20 years of successful operation in the personal care market, having developed Velvet to a nationwide-renowned brand with brand recognition at an impressive rate of 96% among the Polish population.

Tomasz Stamirowski, Managing Partner at Avallon said

"Since the acquisition from Kimberly Clark in 2013, the company has doubled sales, significantly increased profits and invested nearly PLN 250 million in the company’s development, including a key project – the new tissue machine. The company is run by one of the best management teams in Poland, which perfectly fits in AVALLON’s philosophy of joint investments with managers. Together with the new and experienced investor, the team has a chance to achieve the next spectacular success."

Artur Pielak, CEO of Velvet CARE added

"For many years, the Velvet brand has been the leader on the Polish market. Being a modern and successful organization, the company is enjoying sustained popularity among consumers and the Velvet brand is synonymous with the highest quality of paper-based, personal hygiene products. We are delighted that we will be able to continue pursuing Velvet CARE's strategic development in Poland whilst gradually building our position in export markets with the backing and experience offered by Abris."

Paweł Gieryński, Managing Partner at Abris Capital, remarked:

"Our strategy at Abris is to transform the companies under our ownership into national and regional champions in their respective industries. We have the same ambition for Velvet CARE and propose to achieve that objective through a combination of organic growth and selective acquisitions. The company has recently completed a major capital expenditure program which has substantially increased its production capacity; we will continue this program while we seek to acquire other attractive, related businesses in the region."

AVALLON MBO FUND

AVALLON is an independent private equity fund manager with focus on management buy-outs (MBOs). Since 2001, it has participated in over 100 MBO transactions and is considered a pioneer of this niche in Poland. AVALLON MBO FUND II is the second AVALLON fund and has raised EUR 109 million.

Velvet CARE

Velvet CARE is one of the leading manufacturers of tissue-based, personal hygiene products in the CEE. Its origins date back to 1897, including a period of 17 years under the ownership of International Paper and Kimberly Clark. The products of Velvet CARE are currently sold in 15 countries.

Abris Capital Partners

Abris Capital Partners is an independent private equity fund manager which invests in Central & Eastern Europe and targets mid-market opportunities. Since its inception in 2007, Abris has secured cumulative commitments of approximately EUR 1.3 billion. Abris funds have made 21 investments in Poland and elsewhere in the CEE region. Abris’ portfolio in Poland comprises GetBack, Graal and CARGOUNIT.

The transaction remains subject to the standard approval procedure of Poland's Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.​​