Ebro Foods acquires majority stake in Italian pasta company

Spanish food processing company Ebro Foods has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority shareholding of 52% in Italian pasta company Pastificio Lucio Garofalo for around €62.5m.

Pastificio holds a major position in the dry pasta premium segment in Italy and other countries worldwide.

The company owns the brands Garofalo, Santa Lucia and Russo de Cicciano, inter alia.

The Menna family, who have held shares in the company since 1952, took complete control of the company in 1997.

Helped by its Garofalo signature brand, the company’s gross revenues have risen from €30m in 2002 to over €134m in 2013.

With the acquisition, Ebro Foods is seeking to tap the potential of high-quality Italian pasta known as ‘pasta di Gragnano’, which is part of the Italian gastronomic tradition and culture.

Ebro Foods noted that the partnership will allow it to cooperate in the development and international promotion of the premium segment.

The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of June 2014.

Ebro, based in Madrid, Spain, owns a leading market share in rice and pasta sectors globally.

In the pastas and sauces sector, the company owns brands such as Panzani, Ronzoni, Skinner, Healthy Harvest, American Beauty and San Giorgio.

In the rice sector, the company’s brands include Bosto, Reis-Fit, Comet, Lassie, Saludaes, SOS, Brillante, La Cigala and La Fallera.