Mexico’s Femsa Offloads Envoy Solutions Stake to BradyIFS for $1.7 Billion

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Bloomberg — Mexico’s Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB (FEMSA) (FEMSAUBD) sold a $1.7 billion stake in Envoy Solutions to BradyIFS as part of its plan to divest from non-core units.

Femsa will retain a 37% stake in Envoy, the company said in a statement. The two companies will “create a new platform within the facility care, foodservice disposables and packaging distribution industries in the United States,” the statement said.

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Monterrey, Mexico-based Femsa announced a strategic review in February of some of its non-core assets, including its stake in Dutch brewer Heineken NV as well as Envoy Solutions. The move is the first under Chairman Jose Antonio Fernandez Carbajal, who stepped in as interim chief executive officer after former CEO Daniel Rodriguez Cofre left his post to treat colon cancer. Rodriguez died on Aug. 18. Fernandez Carbajal had served as CEO before.

Approximately 63% of the new entity will be owned by existing BradyIFS shareholders led by Kelso & Company, Warburg Pincus LLC and the current minority shareholders of Envoy Solutions, Femsa said. Envoy provides a range of packaging and food services, from corrugated boxes to facilities cleaning, according to its website.

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The transaction values the whole company at roughly $4.6 billion. Bloomberg had reported earlier that Warburg and Kelso portfolio company BradyIFS were in talks with Femsa to buy Envoy in a deal valuing the unit at about $5 billion.

Femsa, which distributes and bottles beverages and operates the ubiquitous OXXO convenience stores, acquired 20% of Heineken in 2010 before trimming its stake as part of the review. It acquired Switzerland’s Valora, which operates about 2,700 cafes and convenience stores, for as much as $1.2 billion last year to expand in Europe.

--With assistance from Carolina Gonzalez.

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