Pava Partners acted as exclusive Debt Advisor to funds advised by KKA Partners (“KKA”) on the acquisition of a majority stake in GeHo Group, a leading German distributor of confectionaries, snacks, beverages, and other supplementary products.

Pava Partners arranged an attractive acquisition financing package which will also support the future operational financing needs of the company as well as enabling potential buy & build opportunities.

GeHo Group has achieved a new milestone in partnering with KKA to accelerate further growth. This strategic step follows a record financial performance in 2024 and sets the basis for the next growth phase and further expansion of the company. The Holthuijsen family, as sellers and core of the management team, will stay on board both as significant minority shareholders and in their management roles going forward.

The cooperation with KKA is built on a shared vision to make the entire product portfolio available to people on the go, further expand the own brand assortment of affordable snack alternatives and promote healthier snack alternatives with new targeted product promotions. Leveraging KKA’s deep expertise in digitalization and technological transformation, GeHo aims to drive growth through AI-powered assortment optimization and efficiency gains from tech-enabled processes.

“We are very much looking forward to the partnership with KKA, whose experience, network, and technologization potential will put us in a good position to further drive sustainable growth and expand our product portfolio,” says Willi Holthuijsen, CEO of GeHo Group.

“The Debt Advisory team at Pava Partners played an instrumental role in the successful execution of the transaction. Their strong and deep involvement throughout all project phases enabled us to focus on executing the transaction from an equity perspective. We are also highly appreciative in the way Pava Partners collaborated with all other advisors in a seamless approach,” says Patrick Feller, Managing Partner at KKA.

About KKA Partners

KKA was founded in 2018 and is a Berlin-based private equity firm investing in leading medium-sized companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The founding partners have a deep-rooted family and professional connection to the medium-sized business sector, which they have developed over 20 years of close cooperation with medium-sized companies. KKA helps growth-oriented companies realize their full potential by combining operational excellence and proprietary, technology-driven value driver strategies. Leading investors worldwide, including the European Investment Fund (“EIF”), entrust the KKA team with their capital. The transaction also receives support from the European Union under the InvestEU Fund.

For more information, visit www.kkapartners.com.

About GeHo Group

Founded in 1989 by Hubert, Hendrik and Willi Holthuijsen, GeHo is a specialized distributor of confectionaries, baked goods, and beverages focused on the growing vending industry, located in Straelen, Germany. With third-party brands and own brand products GeHo provides snacks and beverages on the go to people across DACH via universities, schools, corporates, public institutions, and, in particular, vending operators. Thanks to its lean setup, sophisticated logistics processes and high customer density, GeHo manages to provide “just in time” delivery of small batches to the point-of-sale at a competitive price.

For more information, visit www.geho-straelen.de.