Belgian food group Vandemoortele has announced the acquisition of French frozen bakery products producer Délifrance.
Vandemoortele will acquire Délifrance from the grain cooperative Vivescia. The deal for the French company includes taking over 3,200 employees, 14 production sites, and an annual turnover of approximately €930 million.
This is the second major announcement from Vandemoortele in a week. On Tuesday, it confirmed plans to acquire the €450 million European margarine and spreads business of US food company Bunge.
Délifrance supplies frozen bakery products to supermarkets, hospitality businesses, and bakers in Europe and Asia. Vandemoortele has been active in the bakery sector for 50 years.
The company employs 3,500 people across 28 production sites and has an annual turnover of €1.4 billion, primarily generated in Europe and the United States.
CEO Yvon Guerin sees strong potential for synergies in areas such as accelerating growth, customer service, product innovation and branding. The two companies are described as complementary in terms of product range, services and geographical presence.
On Friday, Vandemoortele also published its annual results. The group's turnover increased by €59 million to €1.99 billion, while net profit rose by €2 million to €111 million. The CEO described the economic climate as "more stable and calmer" after years of high cost inflation.
