Nomad Holdings Ltd. has agreed to acquire Iglo Foods Holdings Ltd., said to be Europe’s largest branded frozen food company, from Permira Advisers LLP in a deal worth €2.6bn.
Subject to customary closing conditions, Nomad aims to build a portfolio of best-in-class companies and brands within existing, as well as new categories with the Iglo Foods deal.
Iglo Group operates in 12 countries in Europe, with manufacturing operations in the UK, Germany, and Italy.
With more than 1,000 SKUs across the fish, vegetables, meat, meals and other categories, Iglo Group includes some of the continent's major brands such as Birds Eye in the UK and Ireland, Iglo in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and other continental European markets, and Findus in Italy.
Nomad's co-founder Noam Gottesman said: "What people eat and how and when they eat are constantly evolving, making food one of the most resilient yet dynamic categories in the consumer sector.
"Iglo Group's strong brands are clear market leaders in frozen food, and the Company's innovative and customer-centric approach will continue to drive organic growth and superior returns within the industry. The group's scale, cash-generative profile, and experienced management team make it an ideal foundation for us to build up a world-class, global consumer foods company through a prudent M&A strategy."
The transaction is expected to be funded through a combination of Nomad's cash on hand, equity and proceeds from a private placement of approximately $750m.
As cited in Bloomberg, Permira bought Iglo and Birds Eye brands from Unilever in 2006 in a deal valued at €1.8bn.
Image: Nomad to buy Iglo Foods in EUR2.6bn deal. Photo courtsey of bigjom via Freedigitalphotos.net.
