Nestlé S.A., Switzerland, reached an agreement to sell its U.S. ice cream business to Froneri, an ice cream-focused joint venture Nestlé created in 2016 with PAI Partners, for $4 billion.

In 2016, Nestlé and PAI Partners merged Nestlé’s European ice cream business in 20 countries and PAI-owned R&R to create Froneri, which will now have a strong presence in the United States in addition to its operations in Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia-Pacific. Plus, Froneri’s acquisition of TipTop in New Zealand and Nestlé’s ice cream business in Israel continue to increase Froneri’s growing global footprint.

"The creation of Froneri has been a phenomenal success. We are now making this business our global strategic partner in ice cream, and are convinced that Froneri’s successful business model can be extended to the U.S. market,” says Mark Schneider, chief executive officer of Nestlé. “With this transaction, we are taking a decisive step toward our goal of achieving global leadership in ice cream."

"This is another milestone acquisition for Froneri as we drive toward becoming the world’s best ice cream company,” adds Ibrahim Najafi, chief executive officer of Froneri. “We're delighted to be bringing such well-loved U.S. brands into the Froneri family. The acquisition is testament to the strength and longevity of our relationship with Nestlé. This partnership and the continued support of PAI Partners will be essential to ensuring we continue to delight consumers with innovative, high-quality products in all markets."

"We are excited to bring Nestlé’s stellar U.S. ice cream business to Froneri,” says Frédéric Stévenin, partner at PAI Partners. “This is a great opportunity for further growth, building on the expertise of the world's leading pure-play ice cream company.”

Nestlé will continue to manage its remaining ice cream businesses in Canada, Latin America and Asia as part of its current market structure.