Packaged foods company Nomad Foods Ltd., London, entered into an option agreement with LionGem Sweden 1 AB, a company backed by a group of investors, including Highbridge Principal Strategies, Lion Capital LLP and Sankaty Advisors, to acquire Sweden-based Findus Sverige AB and its subsidiaries. Through this transaction, Nomad will acquire Findus Group’s continental European businesses in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, France, Spain and Belgium. These operations include the intellectual property and commercialization rights to the Findus, Lutosa and La Cocinera brands in the respective markets. The remaining part of the Findus Group, including Young’s Seafood Ltd. in the UK, will not be impacted.
Through Iglo Foods Holdings Ltd. and its subsidiaries, Nomad currently operates Findus in Italy. This transaction creates a pan-European food business, enabling Findus to move forward as a more unified brand and support efforts to drive innovation, introduce new meal options and conduct marketing initiatives aimed at bringing more consumers across Europe to the frozen foods aisles.
“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,” says Stéfan Descheemaeker, chief executive officer of Nomad Foods. “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 Findus name is well-loved and iconic across the European continent, and 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. ”
“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,” adds Noam Gottesman and Martin Franklin, Nomad's co-chairmen and founders. “This transaction builds on the positive momentum generated by Stéfan and the Iglo Group team, and we are excited to welcome the Findus employees to the Nomad family. The addition of these businesses 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.”
“This transaction represents a strategic milestone for Findus, and is a positive development for the European food industry as a whole,” says James Hill, chief executive of Findus Group. “The new group will be bigger, stronger, more efficient and more innovative than its component parts, offering significant benefits not only to consumers, but [also] to all of our stakeholders. I am confident this is an ideal way for Findus to sustain the growth of recent years, and I’d like to thank all those, especially our dedicated employees, who have made it possible.”
