German family-owned company EW Group is the frontrunner in the acquisition of Planasa, a Spanish producer of strawberries and other red fruit varieties that is backed by private equity firm Cinven, two sources familiar with the situation said.

EW Group is the only bidder left and it is trying to close the deal which has not been signed yet, one of the sources said. Cinven has agreed to sell Planasa to EW Group, a second source said. However, Cinven continues to analyse several proposals from different bidders, a third source familiar with the situation said.

Cinven relaunched the sale of Planasa in April in a deal that could reach EUR 1bn. Funds BainCapital, Bridgepoint, The Carlyle Group, CVC, EQT, Mubadala, PAI Partners and Partners Group were named as potential bidders by the Spanish press.

Cinven is working with JPMorgan and Perez-Llorca as advisors in the deal, as reported.

Planasa reported a 2022 EBITDA of around EUR 65m in its last fiscal year, which closed last March, as reported. The group now has a presence in more than 25 countries, a workforce of more than 4,000 employees and more than 225 registered varieties of fruit and vegetables, as reported.

Planasa has a score of 76 out of 100, according to Mergermarket’s Likely to Exit (LTE) predictive algorithm, with news about the ongoing process contributing to its high ranking.*

Cinven declined to comment. EW Group did not answer requests for comment.

*Mergermarket’s LTE predictive analytics assign a score to sponsor-backed companies to help track and predict when an exit could occur through M&A, an IPO, a direct listing or a deSPAC transaction.