Valeo Foods has bought German confectionery group Schluckwerder, bringing the Irish company’s annual revenues to more than €1.2bn.
It is the second acquisition by Valeo in less than a month and its 18th since the company was founded 11 years ago.
Valeo Foods was established in Ireland in 2010 as a portfolio business of CapVest Partners. It has expanded since then and now owns a range of high-profile brands such as Kettle crisps, Batchelors, Kelkin and Rowse.
Schluckwerder operates three production facilities in northern Germany. Retailers including Lidl, Aldi and Netto form a core part of its business. More than 25pc of its products are sold outside Germany.
Valeo Foods confectionery deal to boost sales to €1.2bn Valeo Foods Group has acquired German confectionery manufacturer Schluckwerder Holding in a deal expected to boost the Irish manufacturer’s sales to €1.2bn (£1.07bn).
The acquisition included three production facilities in Lübeck and Adendorf that employ 480 people, bringing Valeo Foods’ total workforce to 4,500.
Following the purchase of Schluckwerder, revenues at Valeo’s European business unit would increase to an estimated €283m (£252.9m), the company claimed. Its UK business unit has revenues of more than €583m (£521m) with a further €319m (£285m) generated in Ireland.
Traditional confectionery
Established in 1956, Schluckwerder produces the 175-year-old Lübecker marzipan brands Erasmi and Carstens, which are protected under the EU geographic designation status.
Kettle owner Valeo Foods has snapped up tortilla chips maker It’s All Good.
The deal, for an undisclosed sum, will see IAG – which employs 265 people at its HQ in Gateshead and produces the Manomasa tortilla chip brand as well as substantial own-label lines – join Valeo’s snacking division alongside Kettle.
IAG had “grown impressively since it was founded in 2012 by Calum Ryder, current MD, expanding its significant private-label and branded product range beyond its flagship tortilla snacks to include rice cakes, popped chips and flat breads”, said Valeo.
The supplier appointed advisors to secure a sale earlier in December, with a city source telling The Grocer at the time it was “run brilliantly and well invested, making the best product in the market” and had significant potential to scale up under a new owner.
The acquisition of IAG is consistent with our ambition of creating a global food business with an exceptional portfolio of leading food brands and products in attractive categories, said Valeo CEO Seamus Kearney. We want to remain at the forefront of consolidation in the ambient food sector in Europe and we will continue to seek out further exciting opportunities for growth.
The IAG deal follows 2019 s acquisitions of Kettle Foods, the UK-based premium snack maker, and Mathew Walker, a seasonal dessert maker. The same year Valeo sold Nimbus Foods, a non-core business that manufactured toppings and food decorations.
The company now controls a portfolio of dozens of leading food brands, including Odlums, Shamrock, Roma, Erin and Kelkin, selling hundreds of products.
Updated / Tuesday, 22 Dec 2020
16:39
The Group s products are sold in over 106 countries around the world.
The Irish-based Valeo Foods - which owns brands such as Jacob s, Batchelors, and Kelkin, has acquired IAG (It s All Good), a producer of tortilla snacks in the UK.
IAG has an annual turnover of approximately £37 million.
Since its formation in 2010, Valeo Foods, a portfolio company of CapVest Partners LLP, has expanded rapidly.
IAG marks its 17th acquisition, creating a major international food business across the UK, Ireland and Continental Europe, generating annual revenues of over €1 billion.
The Group’s products are sold in over 106 countries around the world, with the UK Valeo Foods’ biggest market, accounting for just over half of current revenues.