Italian food ingredients business Nactarome has made its second UK acquisition in less than a year, with the Bristol offices of national accountancy RSM and global law firm Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) again advising on the deal.
RSM’s Bristol mergers and acquisition (M&A) and private equity team and lawyers from WBD acted for TasteConnection, a specialist seasonings, glazes and marinades manufacturer based in Alderley, Gloucestershire, on its takeover by the Milan-based group.
The two firms last year worked with Clevedon-based Create Flavours when it was acquired by Nactarome.
Established in 2002, TasteConnection was created to connect specialist seasonings, provenanced ingredients and forthcoming food trends with market leading brands and premium own-label products.
Its management team will join Nactarome as part of a new TasteConnection division and will guide it through its next growth stages.
The acquisition. which was funded by Pan-European private equity house Ambienta. will allow Nactarome to expand its UK capabilities while benefitting from synergies between its two UK operations.
Ian Wherry, Stephanie Wilson, Rhys Jennings and Lily Jaskowiak from RSM’s corporate finance team advised on the deal, with Andrew Gordon providing tax advice.
The WBD team was led by partner Tom Fitzpatrick and managing associate Sammy Hill.
Ian Wherry, RSM corporate finance partner, pictured, said: “We are delighted to have helped the TasteConnection shareholders to find a strategic partner for the business.
“This acquisition allows Nactarome and the Aromata Group to expand its platform further with another high-quality UK based investment.
“It also provides the managing shareholders the opportunity to become part of an international group alongside Create Flavours, with whom they have had a long-standing relationship.”
TasteConnection co-founder Andrew Sainsbury added: “We see this acquisition as a great fit for both of our organisations and believe TasteConnection will strongly complement the wider group.
“We are very grateful to the teams at RSM and Womble Bond Dickinson for their hard work on our behalf to secure a good deal for us as the existing shareholders, and for the future of the business. 
“Their advice was invaluable, steering us through the process and allowing us to achieve a fantastic result despite the events that have unfolded over the last 12 months.”
WBD corporate partner Tom Fitzpatrick, pictured, said the firm was seeing a lot of ‘bolt-on’ acquisitions where private equity-backed businesses were growing through M&A deals as well as organically.
“It has been great to sell another business to Nactarome, who clearly have an appetite, and we are seeing more of Ambienta in the UK,” he added.
Bristol is WBD’s second largest UK office with more than 230 staff. The firm has seven other UK bases and 19 in the US.
