FDBusiness.com

Ornua (formerly the Irish Dairy Board) has sold a majority stake in its US specialty foods distribution business, DPI Specialty Foods, to Arbor Investments for an undisclosed amount. DPI is a leading specialty food distributor and provider of customised sales, marketing and logistics solutions to national, regional and independent retailers and food service operators across the US. Ornua will maintain a minority stake in the DPI business and DPI’s existing senior management will continue to lead the organisation and operate its eight distribution facilities.

The sale of DPI is consistent with Ornua’s strategy of reallocating capital and assets to support Ornua’s continuing investments in enhanced routes to market for Irish dairy products through its businesses across global markets including the US, UK, Germany, Middle East, Africa and China. Ornua identified Arbor, a specialised private equity firm based in Chicago, Illinois that focuses exclusively on acquiring premier companies in the food, beverage and related industries, as the optimal equity partner to drive continued growth at DPI whilst allowing Ornua to focus on its core remit of building markets for Irish dairy products.

Kevin Lane chief executive of Ornua, comments: “The sale of a majority stake in DPI allows us reinvest the significant proceeds in our core business of building routes to market for Irish dairy products. 2015 has seen our Group make a series of investments in Spain, the US, the UK, Germany and Nigeria, each delivering value for our member coops and dairy farmers. Arbor’s introduction to the business ensures that the hard work and achievement of the team at DPI can be further built upon in the years ahead.”