
PAI partners is one of the largest private equity firms in Europe with offices in Paris, Copenhagen, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Munich. The Europe-wide team is composed of 50 professionals with diverse backgrounds and sectorial expertise. PAI partners acquired Chr. Hansen in a take-private transaction in 2005.Chr. Hansen is a global supplier of bioscience based ingredients to the food, health and animal feed industries. All solutions are based on strong research and development competencies and significant technology investments. The company enjoys market leadership in all its divisions: Cultures & Enzymes, Health & Nutrition and Natural Colors Division. There are more than 2,300 dedicated employees in over 30 countries.
The IPO marked the return of Chr. Hansen Holding to the public market after having been taken private in Aug 2005 and was the first sizeable IPO (larger than €200m) to price in Denmark since the IPO of Trygvesta in Oct 2005. Despite volatile markets, the offering attracted strong demand from Danish and international institutional investors, as well as from Danish retail investors. The offer price was fixed at DKK 90 per share giving Chr. Hansen a market capitalization of DKK 12.4 billion on the first day of trading.