Charterhouse makes quick Avent exit

Charterhouse Capital Partners is to sell Avent Holdings, a UK provider of baby and infant feeding products, to Royal Philips Electronics for £460m (€675m), less than a year after it acquired the business.

Charterhouse bought Avent, then called Cannon Avent, in a £300m deal in June 2005. Return details were not disclosed but reports suggest the UK firm doubled its investment.

Avent reported sale of approximately £113m for the year ending March 2006, an increase of 12% over the previous 12 months. Philips expects sales growth of the company to outpace the market, which is valued at around €7bn. Over the next five years, the mother and baby care sector is expected to grow 5% a year on average. Avent is to be merged with Philips’ domestic appliances and personal care division.