Nomad Foods has entered into an agreement to acquire Green Isle Foods (Goodfella’s Pizza) from Boparan Holdings subsidiary 2 Sisters Food Group for around €225 million.
Goodfella’s Pizza manufactures and distributes a portfolio of branded and private label frozen pizzas in the UK and Ireland.
Nomad Foods was reportedly in talks to buy the brand at the end of last year and the move sees the company add pizza to its portfolio which already includes Birds Eye fish fingers.
In 2015, Nomad bought frozen food group Iglo for €2.8 billion as well as Findus. Last year, CEO Stefan Descheemaeker said that company had an acquisitions fund of €600 million at its disposal. It produces, markets and distributes brands in 17 countries
The Goodfella’s brand, which accounts for the majority of Goodfella’s Pizza revenues, was founded in 1993. The acquisition also includes the San Marco pizza line and two frozen pizza manufacturing facilities which Nomad hopes will provide a foundation for future expansion in the category.
Commenting on the transaction, Nomad Foods CEO Stefan Descheemaeker said: “The acquisition of Goodfella’s Pizza comes at an exciting time for our company. 2017 was a banner year as investments in our core portfolio translated into strong organic revenue growth.
We exited the year on a high note, with our updated guidance reflecting better than expected top and bottom line performance during the fourth quarter. Goodfella’s Pizza creates a new and exciting growth avenue into frozen pizza, a strategic category that is both sizable and complementary.
“We have a strong foundation in place and are well positioned to create shareholder value as we apply our proven toolkit of capabilities to Goodfella’s Pizza and further develop our portfolio of iconic and market-leading brands. We are excited to welcome the Goodfella’s Pizza employees to the Nomad family.”
Nomad Foods founder Noam Gottesman added: “With strong organic revenue growth momentum, the time is right to expand into new strategic categories such as pizza, which offer adjacent avenues for further growth and synergies.
“The Goodfella’s Pizza brands and team broaden our product offering and customer reach, and solidify our market leadership within the United Kingdom and Ireland. We are pleased to welcome Goodfella’s Pizza to the Nomad Foods portfolio.”
Goodfella’s Pizza is owned by the UK’s largest chicken supplier 2 Sisters Food Group, which is part of Boparan Holdings.
Last year 2 Sisters was embroiled in a hygiene scandal after workers were found to be altering ‘kill dates’ following an undercover investigation by the Guardian and ITV.
An investigation found that it had a “far from pristine” history before the scandal.
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