Finland’s Atria has snapped up the entire share capital of prepared food company Gooh from Swedish agri-food business Lantmännen.
Financial details were not disclosed.
The deal encompasses the entire business, as well as the Gooh brand. All staff currently working in the ready-meal business area will be invited to join the transfer.
Established in 2005, Gooh’s production facility is in Järna, south of Stockholm, and the brand serves around five million dishes annually via sales outlets throughout Sweden, according to a Lantmännen statement.
The ready-meals range features a mix of traditional Swedish home cooking, such as frikadeller, and varieties from other countries like Italian pasta dishes such as pasta puttanesca.
Gooh’s annual turnover is around €16m ($17.4m) and the company is profitable, according to Atria.
Jarmo Lindholm, CEO of Atria’s Sweden business, said: “Atria has set its goal to be the leading restaurant in Northern Europe. Gooh's product selection complements Atria's ready-made food offering and offers new opportunities for consumer-oriented 'productisation' in the Swedish market. Gooh is a well-known and respected ready-to-eat brand in Sweden.
“The acquisition fits perfectly with Atria Group's strategic goal of growing in the prepared food segment and improves Atria Sweden's chances for profitable growth."
The transaction is expected to be approved by the relevant authorities later this spring.
Thomas Isaksson, executive vice president of Lantmännen, said: “Over the years, Gooh has developed the chilled ready-meals category by focusing on quality and distribution. We have decided to divest the business area in order to focus on our core, which is to create value from the grain value chain. In Atria Sweden, we see a competent and long-term owner with good opportunities to develop Gooh further.”
Just Food has contacted both companies for further details.
In Atria’s full-year results for 2023, net sales reached €1.75bn, up from €1.70bn the previous year. Adjusted EBIT reached €49.6m, marginally up from €49m in 2022.
The group’s Sweden business generated €330.5m in 2023, down from €356.2m the previous year. The Swedish business reported an adjusted EBIT loss of €5.6m, compared to a €2.3m profit the year prior.
CEO Kai Gyllström said: “At the end of the year, Atria Sweden kicked off an efficiency programme to achieve the objectives defined in the business strategy. The efficiency improvement measures aim for annual savings in the amount of roughly €2.5m.”
