Onno de Groot

  • Partner
Photo of Onno de Groot

Perfil

I joined Clearwater International in 2023 as Partner, bringing over 16 years of corporate finance and M&A experience, as well as a wide network and strong sector knowledge in the fields of consumer, retail, food, and agriculture, to further enhance Clearwater’s advisory proposition. During my career, I have advised clients on a broad range of transactions, including buy and sell-side assignments, corporate carve-outs and leveraged buy-outs, both domestic and cross-border, along with equity and debt capital raises. To date, I have completed over 50 M&A transactions with a combined deal value exceeding €5bn.

Prior to Clearwater, I was Director at PwC Corporate Finance, where I led the Consumer & Retail corporate finance team in the Netherlands. I also gained broader financial and M&A experience during secondments at PwC UK’s Consumer M&A team and FrieslandCampina’s in-house corporate development and M&A team.

My core focus is to spearhead Clearwater’s coverage in the Netherlands within the consumer and food & beverage sectors, while being actively involved in the firm’s private equity coverage. As Partner, I am closely involved in both the origination and execution of transactions within the highly active Benelux M&A mid-market, known for its significant private equity activity and high degree of cross-border transactions. I am able to add value to my clients by combining industry knowledge and global buyer access.

With a communicative and collaborative approach, I enjoy working closely with entrepreneurs, management teams, private equity investors, and international corporates. Every situation is unique, and I strive to provide advice that results in the optimal mix for each specific client in terms of valuation, transaction structure, confidentiality, deal certainty, speed of execution, and employee job security. When advising clients, I have a genuine interest in identifying and optimally articulating the unique features of their businesses, using a hands-on, pragmatic, and high-energy approach, to complete the transaction and achieve exceptional outcomes for them.

Some of my deal highlights so far include the sale of Lyceo, the sale of Vitaminstore to Nobel Capital, the sale of B&C International to Springs Window Fashions (backed by AEA Investors and BCI), the sale of Zeelandia’s Scandinavian business/assets to Orkla, growth capital investments by NPM Capital in Agro Care and KUBO, the acquisition of European Bakery Group by 3i Investments (from Egeria), the sale of Partou (by Navitas Capital) to KidsFoundation (backed by Onex and Waterland), the sale of NMi and Triskelion (by FDI) to Levine Leichtman, the acquisition of KIWA by SHV Holdings, the acquisition of Yarrah Organic Petfood by AAC Capital (from Vendis Capital), the distressed sale of MS Mode Group, the distressed sale of Bernard Matthews UK, the sale of FTNON to JBT Corporation, and the sale of Vurense Snack Industrie (VSI) to Hearthside Foods.

I also hold a master’s degree in finance from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and graduated with honours.