Nomad Holdings Completes Acquisition of Iglo Foods
Nomad Holdings has completed its acquisition of Iglo Foods Holdings, Europe’s leading frozen food company, for approximately €2.6 billion from Permira. With the closing of this transaction, Nomad has been renamed Nomad Foods.
The transaction was funded through a combination of Nomad’s cash on hand, equity and proceeds from a private placement of approximately $795 million at US$10.50 per ordinary share to a limited group of institutional investors, assumption of Iglo Group’s existing indebtedness and the early exercise of most of Nomad’s outstanding warrants. In addition, the Permira funds and senior management re-invested €133.5 million of their proceeds into Nomad and now own approximately 9% of Nomad Foods.
As previously announced, Stéfan Descheemaeker has been appointed as chief executive of Nomad and Iglo Group, effective immediately. He brings a strong background in food retailing, consumer goods, and corporate strategy to the position. In addition, Paul Kenyon, Iglo Group’s chief financial officer, has been appointed chief financial officer of Nomad.
Noam Gottesman, Nomad’s co-founder and co-chairman, comments: “The completion of this acquisition marks the start of Nomad’s growth story. Through Iglo Group, Nomad has gained an established presence in Europe’s fragmented frozen foods space.”
Stéfan Descheemaeker.
Stéfan Descheemaeker says: “I am excited to embark on this journey. There are abundant organic and acquisitive growth opportunities available within the consumer foods space and I look forward to working with both the Nomad and Iglo Group teams in order to realize new levels of success.”
The sale of Iglo Group to Nomad has enabled Iglo Group to substantially improve its debt profile through the repayment of €490 million in existing term loans resulting in a net debt to EBITDA ratio of less than 3.8X. Additionally, Iglo Group has repriced its term loans and reduced overall interest rates through an amendment to its Senior Facility Agreement. These actions have contributed to a recent ratings upgrade by Moody’s to “B1” from “B2”. In addition, Standard & Poor’s has revised its outlook from “stable” to “positive” while reaffirming its “B+” rating.
