Over the years, there have been a number of rumours about Univeg going public. Now, the same reports are emerging again. Univeg is said to be hungry for capital, aspiring to an IPO through Greenyard Foods. At the moment, nothing is concrete. We looked into the past, and asked a number of industry experts where these reports are coming from, and whether it would be a logical step for Univeg to go public through Greenyard Foods now. Remarkably, the price of Greenyard Foods shares is on the rise.
Focus on internal growth
Deprez has a controlling interest in both companies. Hein Deprez bought CVC from Univeg mid-2013, with the help of his sister Veerle, two South African partners and Marc Ooms. Deprez and his sister Veerle control 55 percent of Univeg at the moment. In November 2013, FreshPlaza spoke with Hein Deprez, and he indicated he thinks in terms of family and generations, and that he was readying his children for the future. "From 2000 to 2010 the focus at Univeg was on creating size. Over the next few years we will roll the knowledge and know how we have to proceed in other areas. We will continue to develop step by step and our focus for the near future is internal growth." Hein emphasized he had every faith in his children. "They end up in a dream scenario, in a company that doesn't just depend on its shareholders, but that's carried by the management."
Family enterprise
Going public can certainly be attractive for family companies, with more and more of those looking at the stock exchange. Univeg indicates that an IPO isn't on the cards, but the rumours have been making the rounds for quite some time. According to one industry source, it used to be to get rid of CVC, and now to consolidate the family interests. Since Greenyard Foods has already gone public, a merger and the possible IPO of Univeg seems logical, but it's probably not a done deal yet.
A need for capital
Univeg has taken over many companies over the years, and has always had a big need for capital. According to another industry source, Hein Deprez has always been good at finding extra capital without watering down his own interest. When the Deprez family ventured into Pinguin (now Greenyard Foods) in 2005, the idea already was for this to pave the way for an eventual Univeg IPO. Pinguin has already gone public in 1999. When CVC Capital Partners ventured into the Univeg capital, that also signalled an eventual IPO, since CVC doesn't hide the fact that they venture into something for a brief period of time, only to leave again, at which point an IPO is often the way out for CVC. They did this with the Belgian Post, for instance, a company that has also gone public now.
Univeg at Fruit Logistica 2015: Left to right: Francis Kint, Hein Deprez,
Nancy Goovaerts and Koen Sticker.
The 2008 bank crisis meant that the 'stock exchange plans' weren't realized: an IPO was not at all a sure-fire way to collect capital anymore. The CVC story didn't go as expected: the short-term profitability wasn't good, and the short-term vision of CVC clashed with Hein Deprez's long-term vision. CVC methods to optimize heavy debts (selling parts of the company to pay off debts) did not match Hein's methods. In 2013, Hein managed to get CVC out, buy back Univeg and make the rules himself again.
Hunger not yet satisfied?
The Univeg debt was restructured by issuing a bond loan in 2013, with the non-profitable parts of the company being parked outside Univeg. The rumours that emerge now to look for extra capital through an IPO, could point to the hunger not being satisfied yet, which, on the one hand, isn't surprising, according to the fresh produce expert. On the other hand, an IPO isn't the most obvious choice for Hein Deprez: going public goes hand in hand with being open in management, and that's not always what Hein appreciates fully.
Response Univeg
Nancy Goovaerts of Univeg indicates that she can't confirm the IPO, but that there's definitely cooperation. "Greenyard Foods and Univeg do work together in many areas. For instance, they try to promote the consumption of fruit and vegetables, both fresh and frozen."