Cerea Partners
Cerea Partners is a French private equity and private debt firm founded in 2004, specializing in investments in small and medium-sized companies within the food and beverage (agro-food) sector. It manages diversified financing solutions including buyouts, mezzanine, and senior debt, with over €1.5 billion in assets under management and nearly 200 investments since inception.
Cerea Partners is a PARIS buyout firm with €1.5B AUM, 35 active companies and 14 exits.
- ·6 exits in the last 5 years · consistent DPI cadence.
- ·Average hold across 14 realized deals: 5 years.
- ·Top sector focus: Consumer (29% of portfolio).
- ·Fund cadence: ~3Y between vintages · last raise 2025.
Sector breakdown
49 companiesGeography breakdown
2 geographiesKey facts
Recent exits
Cerea Partners sold Axium Packaging to SGT in 2025 after 5 years.
Cerea Partners sold Monviso Group to Argos Wityu in 2025 after 7 years.
Cerea Partners sold Krampouz to Groupe SEB in 2024 after 7 years.
Cerea Partners sold La Compagnie des Desserts to PAI Partners in 2023 after 6 years.
Coverage notes
6 funds tracked, 49 portfolio companies (35 active · 14 realized). Verified weekly from public filings and deal announcements.
Funds & portfolio
Every fund Cerea Partners has raised, with its portfolio companies. Hand-checked from public filings.
Cerea Agro Dev IndustrieraisingGrowth2025€250M1 assetsGrowth2025 · 1yr€250M1–
Unrealized
1 held| Company | Entry |
|---|---|
| Vincent Guerlais Consumer · France | 2025 |
Cerea Mezzanine IVinvestingBuyout2023€300M11 assetsBuyout2023 · 3yr€300M11–
Unrealized
11 held| Company | Entry |
|---|---|
| AB Process Ingenierie Industrials · France | 2023 |
| Babcock Wanson Industrials · France | 2023 |
| Burger King Hospitality · France | 2023 |
| Groupe Obyo Industrials · France | 2025 |
| Gruppo PEPPE Hospitality · France | 2026 |
| Hafner Agriculture · France | 2023 |
| Naturacare / Dietopack Healthcare · France | 2024 |
| Nutrimuscle Consumer · France | 2024 |
| Nutrisens Healthcare · France | 2023 |
| Plantex Agriculture · France | 2024 |
| ProNoïa Hospitality · France | 2025 |
Cerea Capital IIIinvestingBuyout2022€300M15 assets1 exitsBuyout2022 · 4yr€300M151
Unrealized
15 held| Company | Entry |
|---|---|
| AB Process Engineering Industrials · France | 2024 |
| Benco Chocolats Consumer · France | 2024 |
| Big Mamma Hospitality · France | 2022 |
| Boulangeries Sophie Lebreuilly Hospitality · France | 2025 |
| Cerise et Potiron FoodTech · France | 2023 |
| Chocmod Consumer · France | 2022 |
| Groupe Ethique et Sante Healthcare · France | 2022 |
| Groupe Isnard Agriculture · France | 2024 |
| Groupe MG2MIX Agriculture · France | 2024 |
| L2PI Industrials · France | 2026 |
| Labelys Group Industrials · France | 2020 |
| Marbour Consumer · France | 2023 |
| Polaris SaaS · France | 2023 |
| Sophie Lebreuilly Hospitality · France | 2025 |
| Wiio Logistics · France | 2025 |
Realized
1 exit| Company | Entry | Exit | Type | Buyer | MOIC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BCF Life Sciences Industrials · France | 2012 | 2018 | Secondary | MBO Partenaires and management | – |
Cerea Capital IIdivestingBuyout2015€250M8 assets6 exitsBuyout2015 · 11yr€250M86
Unrealized
8 held| Company | Entry |
|---|---|
| Acceres Industrials · France | 2018 |
| Cérélia Consumer · France | 2015 |
| Ecotone Consumer · France | 2018 |
| Havea Group Consumer · France | 2017 |
| Icko Apiculture Agriculture · France | 2017 |
| Organic Alliance Consumer · France | 2017 |
| Pagès Group Industrials · France | 2017 |
| Sitour Business Services · France | 2017 |
Realized
6 exits| Company | Entry | Exit | Type | Buyer | MOIC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Axium Packaging Industrials · France | 2020 | 2025 | Trade Sale | SGT | – |
| Biscuit International Consumer · France | 2016 | 2020 | Secondary | Platinum Equity | – |
| Krampouz Consumer · France | 2017 | 2024 | Trade Sale | Groupe SEB | – |
| La Compagnie des Desserts Consumer · France | 2017 | 2023 | Secondary | PAI Partners | – |
| Monviso Group Consumer · Italy | 2018 | 2025 | Secondary | Argos Wityu | – |
| Store Novation Business Services · France | 2017 | 2022 | MBO | Management & Indigo Capital | – |
Cerea Mezzanine IIRealizedMezzanine20140 assets1 exitsMezzanine2014 · 12yr–01
Realized
1 exit| Company | Entry | Exit | Type | Buyer | MOIC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omni-Pac Group Industrials · France | 2018 | 2021 | Trade Sale | Latour Capital | – |
Cerea Capital IdivestingBuyout2010€200M0 assets6 exitsBuyout2010 · 16yr€200M06
Realized
6 exits| Company | Entry | Exit | Type | Buyer | MOIC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kersia Agriculture · France | 2010 | 2016 | Trade Sale | IK Investment Partners | – |
| La Croissanterie Hospitality · France | 2006 | 2017 | Trade Sale | Le Duff Group | – |
| Materne Industrie Agriculture · France | 2010 | 2016 | Trade Sale | Groupe Bel | – |
| Savena Consumer · France | 2010 | 2011 | Secondary | IK Investment Partners | – |
| Solina Agriculture · France | 2011 | 2016 | Secondary | Ardian | – |
| Syclef Business Services · France | 2014 | 2018 | Trade Sale | Latour Capital | – |
About Cerea Partners
Cerea Partners is a French private equity and private debt firm with €1.5 billion of assets under management as of December 2024, founded in 2004 and headquartered in Paris. The firm specialises exclusively in the food and beverage (agro-food) sector, providing diversified financing solutions including buyout equity, mezzanine debt and growth capital across European food and beverage SMEs and mid-cap companies, with deep sector-specific operational expertise across the value chain.
Investment thesis
Cerea targets European food and beverage companies, deploying capital across buyout equity (majority and significant minority positions in profitable food businesses), private debt (mezzanine and senior debt for sponsor-backed and non-sponsor-backed food companies) and growth equity for scaling food brands. Sector focus spans Industrials (food production and processing), Consumer (food brands), Agriculture and Healthcare (food-as-medicine and functional food). Equity ticket sizes vary by strategy from debt-focused positions through to mid-cap buyout equity.
Recent activity
Recent realised exits include Monviso Group (consumer, 2025), Axium Packaging (industrials, 2024), Krampouz (consumer, 2024) and La Compagnie des Desserts (consumer, 2023), reflecting active distribution across the food brand and packaging verticals. The platform tracks 5 funds, 27 active portfolio companies and 12 realised exits across the dedicated food and beverage programme.
Frequently asked questions
- What investment strategy does Cerea Partners focus on?
- Cerea Partners focuses on Buyout, Growth strategies in the private equity space.
- How many portfolio companies does Cerea Partners have?
- Cerea Partners has 35 active portfolio companies and 14 completed exits and 6 funds tracked on GP Intel.
- Where is Cerea Partners headquartered?
- Cerea Partners is headquartered in PARIS, France.
- What is Cerea Partners's assets under management?
- Cerea Partners manages approximately €1.5B in assets under management.
- When was Cerea Partners founded?
- Cerea Partners was founded in 2004.
- What sectors does Cerea Partners invest in?
- Cerea Partners invests across Consumer, Industrials, Healthcare.
- What are Cerea Partners's recent exits?
- Recent realized exits by Cerea Partners include: Axium Packaging (2025) to SGT; Monviso Group (2025) to Argos Wityu; Krampouz (2024) to Groupe SEB; La Compagnie des Desserts (2023) to PAI Partners; Store Novation (2022) to Management & Indigo Capital; Omni-Pac Group (2021) to Latour Capital; Biscuit International (2020) to Platinum Equity; BCF Life Sciences (2018) to MBO Partenaires and management.
Similar firms
Other private equity firms tracked on GP Intel.