UK-based R&R Ice Cream has struck an agreement to buy French own-label firm Pilpa in a deal worth EUR27m (US$38.2m).
The transaction, announced today (5 September), follows R&R’s announcement in June that it was in advanced discussions to buy Pilpa from French company Maison Boncolac. The deal is worth around EUR17.7m plus stock of around EUR9m.
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Pilpa supplies own-label ice cream to French supermarkets from its factory in Carcassone. It sells products under its namesake brand, as well as under licence for Disney. The company’s annual volumes are around 23m litres, R&R said.
R&R chief executive James Lambert said he was “delighted” to add Pilpa’s “strong brands” to the company’s portfolio.
He added: “Our French sales are now at a similar level to Germany and the UK and we are ideally placed to benefit from the opportunities for further consolidation of the European ice cream sector.”
Last year, R&R acquired Rolland, France’s third-largest ice-cream maker for an undisclosed sum. Rolland, which made around 65m litres of ice cream a year, supplied products to the likes of Carrefour, Metro Group, E.Leclerc and Tesco. The deal created the second-largest ice-cream maker by supermarket sales in the UK, Germany and France.
Lionel Rolland, who joined R&R after the deal and who is now in charge of the company’s business in France, said: “Pilpa adds great branded products, as well as its private label portfolio, and some really good people. We will continue to combine all the best qualities of our French businesses to create a successful and profitable R&R Ice Cream business in France.”
