Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF) has entered into an agreement to buy US-based frozen food manufacturer Bellisio Foods for $1.08bn.
Headquartered in Minneapolis, Bellisio is a portfolio company of private equity firm Centre Partners.
Established in 1990, Bellisio is the third largest producer and distributor of single serve frozen entrees in the US by unit share.
It produces more than 400 products spanning a variety of frozen food categories, including single and multi-serve entrees, snacks, side dishes, and specialty sauces.
Bellisio brands include Michelina’s, Boston Market, Chili’s, and Atkins.
Recently, the company has introduced EatingWell and EAT! product lines to focus on balanced food solutions.
It has four production facilities located in Ohio, California and Minnesota.
Bellisio group is also a major player in the single serve frozen entrees market in Canada.
CP Foods CEO Adirek Sripratak said: “This transaction marks the first step of our entry into the world's largest food market, where we see significant growth and synergy opportunities.
“We believe that through leveraging our combined strengths at CPF and Bellisio group, we can bring greater variety of products particularly Asian food products, to US consumers as well as export our products globally.”
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
It is expected to close within 180 days.
According to CP Foods, Bellisio has deep strategic relationships with leading US retailers with over 50,000 distribution points.
For the last twelve months ending September 2016, Bellisio recorded adjusted net sales of $668m.
While JP Morgan acted as exclusive financial advisor to CP Foods for the transaction, Davis Polk & Wardwell was its legal counsel.
