The deal will see acquisition vehicle Nomad Foods pay £400 million (€562m) in cash and 8.4 million for Findus Group's continental European businesses in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, France, Spain and Belgium including intellectual property and commercialisation rights to the Findus, Lutosa, and La Cocinera brands in the countries.
The remaining part of the Findus Group, including Young's Seafood Limited in the UK, will not be included in the deal and will remain in the hands of current owners LionGem Sweden.
Annual revenues associated with the group being acquired are approximately €600 million, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 11%, according to a Nomad Food statement that also outlines plans for approximately €25 million to €30 million of annual synergies in the next three years.
"This transaction is in line with our growth strategy, an exciting addition to the Nomad portfolio, and a significant milestone in reaching our goal of building a global consumer foods company,” said Nomad CEO Stéfan Descheemaeker. “While the operations we are acquiring are strong, attractive assets on their own, combining them with our existing businesses creates a unique value proposition and unlocks new growth opportunities.”
The £400m cash portion of the purchase price is expected to be funded through a combination of Nomad's cash in hand and debt.
Frozen-food empire
Nomad’s purchase of the Findus Group operations comes just months after it completed a deal to acquire Europe’s largest frozen foods business Iglo Group for €2.6bn (£1.9bn).
The Findus Group deal will see Nomad acquire approximately 1,500 employees and 6 manufacturing facilities in Norway, Sweden, France, and Spain.
“Having the businesses under one umbrella brings together two talented, world-class teams, enabling us to share best practices and to elevate and evolve the brand as we bring an even greater choice of products to consumers,” added Descheemaeker.
Noam Gottesman and Martin E. Franklin, Nomad's co-chairmen and founders, jointly commented that the addition ‘is transformative’ to Nomad “as it augments our product offering, customer reach, and geographic footprint, further solidifying our leadership position in Europe's fragmented frozen foods sector."
"Curating a portfolio of market-leading consumer foods companies remains our core objective and this acquisition furthers our long-term commitment to growing the frozen food sector in Europe through ongoing investments in brands, innovation, and product development,” they said in a statement.
James Hill, chief executive of Findus Group said the new group will be “bigger, stronger, more efficient and more innovative than its component parts,” and will offer significant benefits to consumers and stakeholders.