Greencore to acquire Peacock Foods

Chilled and frozen foods manufacturer Greencore intends to acquire US-based convenience food producer Peacock Foods for $747.5m on a debt-free and cash-free basis.

The acquisition would strengthen Greencore’s position in the US market, and provide a platform for sustained profitable growth.

Greencore CEO Patrick Coveney said: “The acquisition of Peacock will transform our US business, strengthen our position in high growth categories, broaden our channel and customer exposure, and add significant scale to our operations.

“We believe Peacock’s success is built on the same fundamental strategy and values that drive Greencore, making products that consumers love, building deep, longstanding relationships with customers, investing in high-quality manufacturing capacity, food safety capability and, most importantly, people. We are delighted to welcome the Peacock team into the Greencore Group.”

Headquartered in Geneva, Illinois, Peacock produces convenience food products such as frozen breakfast sandwiches, kids’ snack kits and salad kits for a large US consumer packaged goods (CPG) customers.

Peacock Foods CEO Tom Sampson said: “We are thrilled to be joining the Greencore team at this important time in our growth.

“We have been particularly struck by the similarities in the way we run our business and our mutual long-term commitment to the US convenience food market."