Dublin-headquartered Valeo Foods has agreed to buy Italian cake and biscuit producer Balconi in a deal worth about €200m.
The owner of the Jacobs biscuit brand, Valeo will acquire 80% of the Milan-based company from Italian private equity firm Clessidra. The remaining 20% will be bought from the Balconi family, which founded the company more than 60 years ago as a single pastry shop.
A manufacturer of pre-packaged cakes and snacks, it supplies the Italian market and exports to a number of countries including Spain, France, Germany and the UK. The company has sales of about €200m per year, and employs 180 staff. When consolidated into the operations of Valeo, it will bring the Irish group’s turnover up to about €700m.
Valeo CEO Seamus Kearney said: “Balconi is a great company, with leading products in its markets. This agreement is in line with Valeo Foods’ ambitions for international growth, and desire to expand our coverage of Europe. We look forward to working with the CEO of Balconi, Giuseppe Dossena, and the rest of the management to build on the success of today – the basis for continuing to grow the business.”
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