M&A Awards 2026: Orkla Snacks Sverige AB acquires The European Candy Group B.V. (Best Deal Mid-Market 2026)

Brief description deal / Deal outline  

NautaDutilh acted as legal counsel to Dutch private equity firm Bencis and the management team of Continental Candy Industries (CCI) on the sale of CCI to Orkla Snacks, a market leader in confectionery, biscuits and salty snacks across the Nordics and Baltics, and part of Orkla ASA, a leading branded consumer goods group headquartered in Oslo, Norway and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. 

With four production facilities across the Netherlands (Drachten, Oosterwolde and Hoorn) and Germany (Metelen) and approximately 350 employees, CCI is a leading European manufacturer of sugar confectionery with a distinctive focus on next-generation candy: vegan, vegetarian, sugar-free and reduced-sugar, kosher, halal and allergen-free products. CCI serves leading private-label and branded customers across Europe with a portfolio spanning gums and jellies, all sorts, liquorice, dragees and hard-boiled candy. 

Orkla, already an important and fast-growing customer of CCI, offers a strong strategic and cultural fit. As part of Orkla Snacks, CCI gains an ideal platform to accelerate its next phase of growth, extending Orkla’s confectionery and next-generation candy capabilities and broadening its reach across Europe. The acquisition will also strengthen Orkla Snacks' position in Europe and enable Orkla’s BUBS brand (vegan gummies) to expand into new markets. 

Our firm assisted Bencis and management from a legal and tax perspective, alongside Raymond James (sales advisor), PricewaterhouseCoopers (tax), Alvarez & Marsal Europe (financial and operational) and TAUW (environmental). The NautaDutilh core deal team was led by Joost den Engelsman and Olaf Baks (both partner, Corporate M&A) and included Naomi Asscheman and Alexander Bevers (Corporate M&A), Nina Kielman and Niels van Ham (Tax), Mauricette Schaufeli, Jasmijn van Koetsveld and Chanika Derksen (Competition) and Daan Hagelstein and Josephine de Graaf (Notarial). 

Legal advisor to Orkla was Loyens & Loeff. 

Why should this deal win the Award for Best Deal Mid-Cap 2026?  

This deal should win the Award for Best Deal 2026, because: 

This deal is the result of more than ten years of sustained investment and business transformation, reflecting a genuinely long-term approach to value creation in private equity, along with continuity across the business. Bencis first invested in CCI in 2013 and reaffirmed that commitment in 2023 through the Bencis IV Continuation Fund. Over that period, CCI grew into a European market leader in next-generation candy, through investment in product innovation, faster speed-to-market, capacity expansion at its Drachten and Metelen facilities, and stronger relationships with leading retail and branded customers. CCI’s current CEO (Alfred Attema) has provided continuity, having been involved with CCI for more than 15 years. That combination of sustained investment and stable leadership culminated in the successful sale of the business at an enterprise value of EUR 207 million. 

The strategic fit between CCI and Orkla, which was evident long before any deal terms were discussed as Orkla was one of CCI's fastest-growing customers. The acquisition builds on that existing relationship, combining CCI's sugar confectionery expertise and European customer network with Orkla's ambitions. For Orkla, the acquisition provides the production capacity to grow its BUBS brand across the Nordics and accelerate expansion into new European markets. For CCI, it offers an ideal platform for its next phase of growth, extending Orkla's confectionery and next-generation candy capabilities and broadening its reach across Europe. 

The transaction has been executed in a fast-paced and dynamic process demonstrating effective execution under pressure and underscoring our firm's expertise in managing high-end, cross-border sale processes for private equity clients and management teams. 

What is the impact of this deal for the company?  

For CCI, this acquisition is a transformative opportunity to accelerate growth and innovation across Europe. The company's long history under Bencis as a committed shareholder saw Bencis and management transform CCI into a business that creates value for its key stakeholders: consumers, customers, employees and the planet. Over that period, CCI shifted from a traditional confectionery producer to one focused on vegan and plant-based products, with sustained investment in production capacity, R&D and sustainability culminating in B Corp certification in 2025. CCI is now a profitable company with a modern, relevant product portfolio, built for continued investment and long-term continuity. Orkla, as the new strategic shareholder, is well placed to lead that next chapter, giving CCI an ideal platform to accelerate its next phase of growth, and extend Orkla's confectionery and next-generation candy capabilities, and broaden its reach across Europe. 

What is the impact of this deal for the direct stakeholders?  

The direct stakeholders in this transaction experience various impacts from the deal. For Bencis and CCI's management shareholders, the deal represents a successful exit to a strategic buyer, the payoff of a long investment and development journey. For CCI's more than 350 employees in the Netherlands and Germany, it means remaining part of a stable, growing business, now backed by a larger European confectionery group, with access to greater resources. CEO Alfred Attema and the existing management team stay in place, ensuring continuity of leadership and operations. For Orkla, the acquisition delivers the production capacity to support continued BUBS growth in the Nordic markets and to expand faster into new European markets. 

What is the impact of this deal on society?  

With Bencis's support, CCI placed strong emphasis on embedding ESG into its core strategy and became one of the first confectionery producers to achieve B Corp status. CCI has built an impressive sustainability track record of its own: a one-third reduction in carbon footprint since 2020, driven by energy savings across its sites and a shift to 100% renewable electricity, together with a 75% reduction in animal-derived ingredients over the past three years. In addition, CCI gives back to local communities through its Sweet Support programme. In 2024, CCI donated 0.1% of its adjusted 2023 EBITDA, and it aims to increase this percentage going forward. 

CCI is working towards fully vegan, kosher and halal products by 2026. Orkla's backing will likely provide CCI with greater resources to achieve this ambition at scale, enabling it to deliver more sustainable, plant-based confectionery to a broader European audience more rapidly. While improving access to its confectionery for vegan, religious and allergen-sensitive communities across Europe, the move away from animal-derived ingredients also reduces the environmental impact of CCI's products and meets growing consumer demand for sustainable and ethical food choices. 

This transaction is also a strong example of what long-term private equity ownership can achieve: a resilient asset built on commercial discipline alongside genuine ESG progress and responsible business conduct. Bencis backed CCI for more than a decade, from its initial investment in 2013 to a reaffirmed commitment in 2023, enabling a genuine transformation rather than a short-term turnaround. Over that period, CCI rebuilt itself around sustainability, next-generation candy and B Corp certification, before securing a successful exit to a strategic international buyer. 

What was most complex about this deal?  

A number of factors combined made this a complex transaction. Because Orkla was a strategic buyer rather than a private equity investor, the process was subject to tighter competition law restrictions, with clean team arrangements put in place to manage the exchange of commercially sensitive information between the parties. At the same time, CCI's management and shareholders had to keep making important commercial and legal decisions about the business's future throughout the negotiation period, decisions that competition and confidentiality rules prevented them from coordinating with the purchaser in advance. Striking the right balance became a constant exercise, protecting the business's interests on one hand while avoiding any breach of the commitments made under the purchase agreement on the other. 

Orkla's listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange brought a further complication, as the parties needed to maintain strict confidentiality around the deal adding yet more pressure to the transaction. 

Adding further complexity, the business's footprint across the Netherlands and Germany meant the transaction required extensive multi-jurisdictional legal, tax and regulatory work, on top of the customary regulatory approvals and works council consultation. Successfully steering this process to completion, while meeting the varied objectives of all stakeholders, demonstrates exceptional deal execution. 

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