Updates with details on deal in bullets 6 and 7; advisers in 8; market trends in 9 and 10

June 29 (Reuters) - Private equity firm CVC CVC.AS on Monday said it had agreed to buy Italian dessert ingredients maker IRCA from rival fund Advent International, as consumer-focused businesses defy the disruption caused by artificial intelligence and the Middle East crisis.

• No financial details were disclosed but sources previously told Reuters the sale could fetch between €2.5 billion and €3 billion ($2.7 billion–$3.2 billion).

• Advent acquired IRCA in 2022 from private equity firm Carlyle in a deal that valued the group at around €1 billion, sources said at the time.

• Under Advent, IRCA has grown its revenue to €1.5 billion from €370 million in 2021.

• CVC will work closely with IRCA to support further growth through expansion in the United States and Europe, Middle East and Africa markets.

• The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.

• Founded in 1919 near the northern Italian city of Varese, IRCA employs over 2,200 people and runs 19 production facilities across Europe, the United States and Vietnam

• It supplies professional customers in the pastry and ice-cream sectors across more than 100 countries with chocolate, creams and other semi-finished food ingredients.

• Rothschild and UBS acted as advisers for Advent. Lazard advised CVC.

• The IRCA deal is consistent with a fund-to-fund transaction trend in the private equity sector where a rebound in activity has not solved a persistent exit bottleneck, prompting firms to make increasing use of continuation funds and other secondary market solutions.

• Bain said in its latest report on the sector that cash distributions to investors had been "mired below 15% for four consecutive years" with holding periods stretching to around seven years.