Darrell Lea sold for $200 million to Sydney firm Quadrant Private Equity

ICONIC Australian confectionery maker Darrell Lea may still have a future after it was sold for about $200 million to an investment group that has new plans for the once-troubled business.

Darrell Lea has been bought by a Sydney private equity firm. Picture: Adam Knott

ICONIC confectionery maker Darrell Lea has sold for about $200 million to a Sydney investment group which plans to grow the once-troubled business.

Quadrant Private Equity chairman Chris Hadley confirmed that his group had acquired a majority stake in the company, renowned for its licorice and Rocklea Road goods.

“Darrell Lea has been around since 1927 so it really is an iconic Australian brand with a huge amount of heritage and good will from consumers,’’ Hadley said.

Gold Coast-based rich listers Tony and Christina Quinn bought Darrell Lea in 2012 for about $25 million after it fell into voluntary administration.

The couple then injected about $30 million in to the business and built a new factory near Sydney. They also closed stores and slashed employee numbers from 800 to about 120.

But the restructuring worked, with its wide range of products now available in leading supermarkets.

Earnings nearly doubled to $23 million in the last financial year and annual sales exceeded $110 million.

Hadley said his firm had just raised more than $1.1 billion and some of that money would drive the organic growth of Darrell Lea, including expanded manufacturing capacity.

He said the company already enjoyed “an extremely strong position in the licorice market’’ and had a very strong presence in the US, UK and New Zealand.

Quadrant had previously done a big deal with the Quinns, acquiring a majority stake in their VIP Petfoods business for $410 million two years ago.

It was subsequently renamed and sold to a consortium of Chinese and Singaporeans investors last year.

“We were previously involved with Tony Quinn. We’re partners and have a good relationship so this (the Darrell Lea deal) was logical,’’ Hadley said.

Darrell Lea was the fastest-growing confectionery brand in Australia over the past three years, making about 40 million metres of licorice annually.