Dr Hans-Peter Wild, scion of the Wild family which owned Epenheim, Germany-based Rudolf Wild GmbH & Co since its foundation in 1931, sold some shares to asset manager Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts and Co (KKR) in January this year.
This sale was seen as the first step towards bringing together the global companies and an eventual initial public offering. KKR brings capital that can enable Wild to continue growing its business, as it has access to financial sources that were previously unavailable.
The new company, with its headquarters in Zug, Switzerland, is made up of Rudolf Wild GmbH & Co, Wild Affiated Holdings Inc (the Erlanger, Kentucky holding company of Wild Flavors Inc), and Swiss assets owned by Dr Wild.
A spokesperson explained to FoodNavigator.com that these Swiss assets are international companies bearing the Wild name. These have offered ingredients from the portfolios of Rudolf Wild and Wild Flavors Inc, depending on customers’ requirements and local regulations.
As well as having management offices and production sites in Eppelheim and Erlanger, the new company also has production locations in Berlin (Germany), Valencia (Spain), Sisseln (Switzerland), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Toronto (Canada), Beloit (Wisconsin, USA), Beijing (China), and Dubai are part of Wild Flavors GmbH as well.
"I am very excited and enthused that together with our partner KKR, we have been able to create the new structure within half a year", says Dr Wild. "However, there is still a long way to go. During the next months we will bring together the new global organization and integrate the processes. We expect that we will benefit from KKR¹s extensive experience here as well."
The change is expected bring benefits to the company’s customers all over the world, as it has access to both raw material sources and distribution channels all over the world.
“This allows us to offer our customers the best products for the respective markets, worldwide,” Dr Wild said.
There is currently no timescale for an eventual public listing, which was first mooted in 2007.
The new structure does not include Deutsche SiSi Werke GmbH & Co Betriebs KG Eppelheim with its leading brand Capri-Sonne/Capri-Sun and INDAG, the technology center of WILD, nor the fruit preparation businesses of WILD Dairy Ingredients (WDI) Nauen, Germany.
These businesses were not included in the deal with KKR and are still 100 per cent owned by Dr Wild.