Adds adviser in paragraph 9; reference to earlier CVC deal this year in 10

By Margaux Perrin and Elvira Pollina

MILAN, 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 other markets in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

• 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 and JP Morgan advised CVC.

• IRCA is CVC's second major acquisition in the sector this year, after the Amsterdam-listed firm in May agreed to buy the food ingredients business of U.S. group International Flavors & Fragrances <IFF.N> for about $4.3 billion.

• 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.

• The stock of unrealized assets has grown to roughly 32,000 companies worth $3.8 trillion, consultancy Bain said in its latest report on the sector.

• Cash paid out to investors as a share of net asset value has remained below 15% for four consecutive years, an industry record, Bain said, adding holding periods now hover around seven years, up from an average of five to six years between 2010 and 2021.