CVC Capital Partners has signed an agreement to acquire control of Irca, Italian and global leader in ingredients for pastry, bakery, chocolate and ice cream in the B2B channel, from the Advent International fund. The transaction, announced on June 29, 2026 through the fund CVC Capital Partners IX, marks a new phase for one of the main excellences of the Italian agri-food sector. The closing is expected by the fourth quarter of 2026.
The transaction in summary
- Buyer: CVC Capital Partners (Fund IX)
- Seller: Advent International
- Target: IRCA Group (Gallarate, Varese)
- Estimated value: about 3 billion euros
- Core business: chocolate, ingredients and semi-finished products for artisanal channels, food service and confectionery industry
Growth strategy and terms of the agreement
CVC will support Irca’s management to sustain its international expansion, focusing in particular on the strategic markets of the United States and theEMEA area. The development guidelines will focus on three main directions:
- operational excellence in production activities and optimization of the supply chain;
- add-on acquisitions aimed at integrating new niche skills;
- internationalization commercial exploiting CVC’s global network.
Although the official value of the operation has not been disclosed, financial rumors estimate the transaction around 3 billion euros. A step change extraordinary, considering that in 2022 the transition to Advent took place based on a valuation slightly over one billion.
Who is Irca: from Gallarate to global markets
Founded in Lombardy in Gallarate (Varese) in 1919 by the Nobili family, Irca was born as a producer of essential oils and malt extracts. Over the course of a century, the industry has been able to diversify production until becoming an absolute benchmark in producers of Chocolate and in semi-finished products for the Italian gelato supply chain. In 2014, the company consolidated its presence in the below-zero sector with the launch of the brand JoyGelato.
| Irca Group in numbers | Data and performance |
| Current turnover | ~1.5 billion € (from 370 million in 2021) |
| Production sites | 22 global plants |
| Employees | about 2,200 (Europe, USA, Vietnam) |
| Reference catalog | over 7,000 products |
| Commercial presence | more than 100 countries |
The success of the Irca model lies in the strategy of the one-stop shop: a single interlocutor able to offer global solutions for industry, large distribution and artisanal confectionery through excellence brands such as IRCA, Dobla, JoyGelato, Ravifruit, Cesarin and Domori Professional (benchmark for the super-premium Criollo cocoa).
The role of private equity in the Italian agri-food sector
The entry of CVC represents yet another chapter of a relay between major private equity, which show increasing interest in the food sector Made in Italy:
- Ardian: takes control from the founding family.
- Carlyle (2017): acquires the company for about 520 million euros.
- Advent International (2022): buys Irca exceeding the billion valuation. Interestingly, CVC (through CVC Credit) had precisely financed this operation.
- CVC Capital Partners (2026): acquires the group for an amount close to 3 billion euros.
Outlook for the supply chain and sustainability
The interest of a giant like CVC (with about 209 billion euros of assets under management) confirms the resilience and very high profitability of the Italian semi-finished ingredients sector. The new ownership will also face the great challenge of applying the EUDR (European Union Deforestation Regulation) — with new traceability burdens for cocoa, coffee, soy, palm oil (Dongo, 2025) — and to carry forward the group's global supply chain ecological transition goals.
Editorial staff of GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade)
References
CVC. (2022, October 27). CVC Credit supports the acquisition of IRCA by Advent International. CVC Capital Partners. https://www.cvc.com/media/news/2022/2022-10-27-cvc-credit-supports-the-acquisition-of-irca-by-advent-international/
Dongo, D. (2025, December 30). Deforestation Regulation, the reform beyond the postponement. FT (Food Times). https://www.foodtimes.eu/it/sistemi-alimentari/deforestation-regulation-riforma-operatori-a-valle/
IRCA Group. (n.d.). Who we are. IRCA Group. https://www.ircagroup.com/en/inside-irca-group/who-we-are
