Iglo Foods sold to Nomad for £1.87bn
Sold by private equity firm Permira, Iglo is one of Europe’s leading frozen food firms with sales across 12 countries and manufacturing plants in the UK, Germany, and Italy. Iglo will be renamed Nomad Foods Ltd, once the sale is completed.
Based in the UK, Iglo supplies more than 1,000 stock keeping units across the fish, vegetables, meat, meals and other categories and employs about 2,800 staff across Europe.
Last year the business was said to deliver net sales of £1.08bn (€1.5bn) and earnings before interest, tax and depreciation of £220.66M (€306M).
Net sales of £1.08bn
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.”
Iglo’s profitability and experienced management team will make it “an ideal foundation”, on which to build a world-class, global consumer foods company through a prudent mergers and acquisition strategy. To achieve that aim Nomad will pursue strategic and complementary acquisitions, said Gottesman.
Iglo Foods in numbers
- 1.87bn: sale price in pounds paid by Nomad
- 1,000: stock keeping units supplied
- 1.08bn: sales in pounds last year
- 2,800: staff employed in Europe
- 9: percentage of stock retained by Permira
Top Iglo brands included: Birds Eye in the UK and Ireland, Iglo in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and other continental European markets, and Findus in Italy.
Top Iglo brands
On completion of the deal, Gottesman and Martin Franklin, founder and executive chairman of Jarden Corporation, will be appointed as non-executive chairmen of Nomad Foods, working with Iglo Group’s executive management team.
Iglo group ceo Elio Leoni Sceti has resigned to pursue “another opportunity” but will remin in place until June 2015, according to a statement from Permira. After stepping down, Sceti will become a non-executive director of Nomad Foods.
Permira’s head of global consumer team Cheryl Potter said: “We are very proud to have helped Iglo Group become the undisputed European leader in branded frozen foods over the past eight years. With the backing of the Permira funds, the company was able to invest heavily in product innovation and brand marketing as well as achieve real European scale with the acquisition of Findus Italy in 2010.”
After completion, Permira will hold a 9% stake in Nomad Foods.
The deal remains subject to regulatory approvals.
