Whole Earth Brands, a prominent US food and beverage group, has made changes to its executive team amid a potential takeover bid by its founder’s affiliate, Sababa.
In order to prevent a conflict of interest, Whole Earth Brands’ interim CEO, Michael Franklin, has been placed on a leave of absence due to his involvement with Mariposa Capital, a family investment firm. Sir Martin Franklin, Michael’s father and the CEO of Mariposa, aims to acquire Whole Earth Brands through his affiliate, Sababa. As part of this transition, Whole Earth Brands has appointed Rajnish Ohri, the president and COO of the company’s international branded CPG business, and Jeffrey Robinson, the president of flavors and ingredients arm Mafco, as interim CEOs.
The decision to restructure the executive team comes after the submission of Sababa’s non-binding takeover proposal on June 25th. Whole Earth Brands, the Chicago-based company behind popular brands such as Wholesome honey and Candarel sweetener, deemed it necessary to ensure the thorough evaluation of this proposal and fulfil their fiduciary duties.
Whole Earth Brands’ largest investor, Sir Martin Franklin, a British-born entrepreneur, revealed his bid to assume full control of the business through a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The proposed bid values the company at approximately $169m, or roughly $593m when considering debt.
Sir Martin Franklin intends to merge Whole Earth Brands with Royal Oak Enterprises, a consumer company he controls known for its charcoal products. This move aims to create synergies between the two entities.
Whole Earth Brands went public in 2020 and appointed Michael Franklin as interim CEO following the departure of Albert Manzone. The company underwent further executive changes in April, welcoming Bernardo Fiaux as the new finance chief and Nigel Willerton as president and COO of branded CPG in North America.
The company reiterated its full-year 2023 outlook, projecting revenues of $550m to $565m and adjusted EBITDA of $76m to $78m.
