Vandemoortele has extended the Belgium food group’s acquisition spree with a deal for bakery business Délifrance.
Hot on the heels of the purchases of the Bunge group’s European margarine and spreads assets and Italian frozen bakery products business Lizzi, family-owned Vandemoortele has snapped up Délifrance from the Vivescia Group.
While the financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, Vandemoortele said in a statement today (28 March) that the combination with Délifrance will create a €2.4bn ($2.6bn) bakery group, providing “solutions to retail and foodservice partners”.
Délifrance, a subsidiary of the French grain cooperative Vivescia is regarded as “one of Europe’s leading frozen bakery manufacturers”, which generated a turnover of around €930m in the year through June, according to the statement.
Délifrance operates 14 production facilities, employs more than 3,200 staff and supplies retail and out-of-home customers across Europe and in Asia.
Vandemoortele itself already has 28 manufacturing plants and 3,500 workers, with its bakery products business generating an estimated turnover of €1.4bn. As well as Lizzi, the company’s frozen bakery brands include Banquet d’Or and Lanterna, while the business also produces for private-label clients. It supplies markets in Europe and the US.
Last year also saw Vandemoortele make a clutch of other acquisitions, including the purchase of Italian bakery business Dolciaria Acquaviva and a majority stake in New Jersey-based peer Banneton.
The combination with Délifrance will expand Vandemoortele’s offering of viennoiseries, Danish pastries and artisanal breads.
Yvon Guerin, the CEO of the Belgium business, said: “This new combination will allow us to create powerful synergies in terms of accelerated growth, customer service, product range, innovation and branding. With a robust investment plan, we are convinced we can accelerate future growth.”
The deal is subject to competition approvals and clearance by Vivescia’s “employee representatives”.
Robert O’Boyle, the CEO of Délifrance, said the deal with Vandemoortele will pave the way for further investment and “accelerate the growth of all our customer partnerships throughout Europe, Asia and North America”.
Christoph Büren, the chairman of Vivescia, said the disposal of Délifrance forms part of its 2030 strategy to “write a new chapter in our story of growth, innovation, and the creation of sustainable value for agriculture”.
