Swedish company Scandi Standard has agreed to acquire Manor Farm, a chicken processor in Ireland, in a share-cum-cash deal.
The deal values Manor Farm at an enterprise value of €94m.
Under the deal terms, Scandi Standard will offer Manor Farm six million of its shares, an undisclosed amount of cash, an earn-out mechanism and debt assumption.
Scandi Standard, which manufactures chicken-based food products in the Nordic region, has significant presence in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland.
The business it will be acquiring in Ireland had registered net revenues of €164m in 2016.
According to Scandi Standard, the 1775-founded Manor Farm run by the Carton family procures and processes nearly 50% of all fresh chicken sold in the Irish retail market and about 25% of all chicken consumed in the country.
Scandi Standard CEO Leif Bergvall Hansen said: “The company has profitability in line with our existing operations, is well run and is the clear market leader in chicken in the Irish retail market.
“With its capable and experienced management team, the business can be run with a high degree of autonomy whilst additional steps, which have been identified, can be taken to capture the benefits of best practice. As many of our risks are country specific, the acquisition is also likely to reduce our earnings volatility through diversification.”
Manor Farm has a workforce of around 850 people. Post acquisition, five members of its management team who own 100% in the company will continue to lead and develop it in line with the rest of the Scandi Standard group.
Manor Farm CEO Vincent Carton said: “We believe that Scandi Standard is the ideal partner, and we are delighted to have agreed a transaction structure that allows the current management to remain fully in place and that also allows the Carton family to become shareholders in Scandi Standard.
“We believe that this arrangement will serve our customers, employees, and suppliers well, and we look forward very much to the next chapter in the history of Manor Farm.”
Four largest shareholders in Scandi Standard having a combined stake of around 29% are backing the transaction which will be closed after meeting customary conditions. Included in them is the approval from the shareholders of Scandi Standard.
