France: Inspired Pet Nutrition to acquire Ultra Premium Direct

Inspired Pet Nutrition (IPN), the pet food company owned by investment funds CapVest and Parquest, has announced it has entered into an exclusivity agreement with French private equity firm Eurazeo SE for the acquisition of Ultra Premium Direct, France’s leading direct-to-consumer pet food company.

Founded in 2013, UPD offers vet-developed products through a direct-to-consumer model that now reaches more than 285,000 customers.

IPN claimed the purchase of UPD, following the acquisition of Sopral in July, would create a strong independent European player.

Commenting on the move, IPN CEO Arthur van Benthem said: “UPD has delivered impressive growth in both sales and profitability and represents a strong strategic addition to IPN. It brings with it a sophisticated, proven e-commerce platform with significant international growth potential, a rapidly expanding mono-brand store network, and another outstanding brand to our portfolio. The business is highly complementary to both IPN and Sopral”.

“By combining UPD’s direct-to-consumer strengths with Sopral’s extensive manufacturing capabilities and IPN’s broader network and customer base, we unlock powerful opportunities to accelerate our ambitious growth plans across Europe. We look forward to working with our expanding team to realise this potential”, he added.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Source: Inspired Pet Nutrition / Eurazeo