Overview
H.I.G. WhiteHorse, the credit affiliate of global investment firm H.I.G. Capital, has provided €120 million in financing to French family-owned pet nutrition group Nasta Petfood to support its acquisition of FirstMate Pet Foods, a Canadian manufacturer based in British Columbia. The deal marks Nasta’s entry into North American manufacturing and accelerates its cross-border expansion strategy.
Key Facts
Nasta is an ultra-premium pet nutrition group with established brands and production bases in France and Italy. The acquisition of FirstMate adds Canadian dry pet food manufacturing capabilities, creating a combined industrial platform with annual capacity of approximately 45,000 tons of dry pet food and 4,000 tons of wet pet food, serving over 400,000 pet households globally. The combined group projects approximately €200 million in revenue for 2026.
The credit-financing structure allows Nasta’s family ownership to remain intact while scaling internationally — a template that other mid-market European pet food companies may follow. H.I.G. WhiteHorse emphasized that the transaction demonstrates its ability to provide flexible, scalable capital to support cross-border acquisitions by non-sponsored companies.
Market Implications
The deal is the second major H.I.G. Capital pet-sector investment in 2026, following its majority acquisition of pet accessories manufacturer Outward Hound earlier in July. H.I.G.’s parallel bets across pet nutrition and pet accessories signal growing private credit appetite for the pet sector’s premium and mid-market segments, and a financing model — patient credit that preserves founder control — suited to family-owned manufacturers pursuing transatlantic scale.
Sources
- H.I.G. Capital — H.I.G. Capital
