Bakkavor Group to Sell French and Spanish Businesses
Bakkavor Group has agreed to sell its French and Spanish produce businesses for Eur33 million to Agrial, Societe Cooperative Agricole et Agro-alimentaire, a leading European food co-operative. The businesses being sold comprise Cinquieme Saison Saint-Pol, Cinquieme Saison Macon, Bakkavor France, Crudi and Sogesol. Completion of the transaction is subject to competition authority clearance, which is expected by the end of the first quarter of 2013.
Agust Gudmundsson, chief executive of Bakkavor, comments: “The sale of our French and Spanish businesses marks an important step in our strategy of reshaping our portfolio to focus on our core fresh prepared markets. The transaction will be beneficial from a leverage perspective and net proceeds will be used to reduce our term loan.”
Bakkavor is the UK’s leading provider of fresh prepared foods. The group has an annual turnover of £1.68 billion, of which £290 million is generated from international sales.
