Livingstone has advised apetito AG on the sale of its minority interest in eatclever

Livingstone has advised apetito AG (apetito), the leading German frozen meals and catering system solutions supplier, on the sale of its minority interest in eatclever, the virtual delivery brand market leader in the DACH region, to Peckwater Brands, Europe’s largest operator of virtual food brands.

Founded in 2015, eatclever is a ghost restaurant operator providing virtual food delivery brands to German, Austrian, and Swiss consumers. apetito invested in a qualified minority position in 2020, supporting eatclever’s development into the virtual delivery brand market leader in the DACH region.

Peckwater Brands, Europe’s largest operator of virtual food brands, operates delivery-only food brands from more than 500 unique locations across nine countries: UK, US, France, Belgium, Finland, Sweden, Hungary, Czechia, and the UAE. The UK company will take over eatclever’s operations in almost 100 restaurants across the DACH region, expanding their presence into three new countries across Europe.

Jörg Baumgart, CFO at apetito, comments: ”Since our investment eatclever has developed into the leading DACH ghost restaurant operator. Peckwater’s interest is the best evidence of this great accomplishment and Peckwater is best suited to promote eatclever’s further international roll-out. We wish to thank eatclever’s founders and employees for their great drive and remarkable journey together with apetito.”

Sam Martin, CEO and co-founder of Peckwater Brands, says: “This is such an exciting development for us. With eatclever, we have acquired the virtual brand delivery market leader across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, which is a tremendous opportunity to increase our presence in central Europe, and we’re thrilled to bring eatclever’s excellent selection of brands under the Peckwater umbrella. The DACH market is a promising new arena for us, and this acquisition further cements our position as Europe’s leading virtual food brand operator.”

Luca Pignato, Partner at Livingstone in Düsseldorf, adds: “We are happy and proud to have helped our long-standing client apetito on optimizing terms and conditions on the unplanned exit in parallel negotiations with the founders and with the final buyer. This transaction marks my fourth deal with apetito within the last 24 months and my first transaction at Livingstone. More to follow!”