FDBusiness.com

The Lavazza Group, the Italian coffee roaster, has purchased an 80% equity stake in Kicking Horse Coffee, from the private-equity fund Swander Pace Capital. Kicking Horse Coffee, a leading Canadian organic and fair-trade coffee player, has distinguished itself over the last several years with remarkable growth in both Canada and the United States. Kicking Horse Coffee was valued C$215 million. Elana Rosenfeld, who founded Kicking Horse Coffee in 1996, will retain a 20% equity stake and will continue as chief executive.

“Kicking Horse Coffee represents one of the ‘local jewels’ the Lavazza Group continues to seek as part of its globalization and premium positioning strategy,” comments Antonio Baravalle, chief executive of the Lavazza Group and future Kicking Horse Coffee chairman. “Today, organic fair-trade coffee is one of the fastest-growing trends at the international level, and in North America in particular. Kicking Horse Coffee leads this segment with a brand that is perfectly complementary to the Lavazza portfolio. In recent years, the company has constantly grown at a double-digit rate and, thanks to this acquisition, its growth and development prospects both in and outside of Canada will increase significantly.”

This transaction represents an important step for the development of Lavazza’s strategy in North America. As with the recent Carte Noire and Merrild acquisitions, Lavazza’s objective is to further increase the “brand equity” of Kicking Horse Coffee while sharing key respective competencies and values.

The Lavazza Group recently announced its best-ever results, with record revenues of €1.9 billion. With this acquisition, Lavazza continues its progress of continuous international growth and diversification, consolidating its competitive position among the global sector leaders. Lavazza Group currently operates in more than 90 countries through subsidiaries and distributors, exporting 60% of its production. Lavazza employs a total of about 3,000 people.