Nomad Foods to acquire frozen food maker Aunt Bessie’s for €240m

UK-based frozen food manufacturer Nomad Foods has signed an agreement to acquire Aunt Bessie’s from William Jackson & Son for approximately €240m.

Aunt Bessie’s is also based in the UK and is primarily engaged in the production and distribution of branded frozen food products.

The acquisition is slated to provide a new platform for Nomad Foods to expand its footprint in the frozen potato and frozen Yorkshire puddings categories.

Nomad Foods will acquire a production facility in Hull, England, as part of the arrangement.

Nomad Foods chief executive officer Stefan Descheemaeker said: “We are excited to welcome Aunt Bessie’s to Nomad Foods.

“Aunt Bessie’s iconic brand, positive values and strong product credentials align well with our existing portfolio.

“As our second accretive acquisition in 2018, Aunt Bessie’s represents another step toward our goal of transforming the frozen food category and building a portfolio of best-in-class food brands.

“Aunt Bessie’s significantly expands our presence within potatoes, one of the largest categories in frozen food, while adding another dimension to our growing portfolio in the UK.”

The completion of the deal will be subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to take place during the third quarter of this year.

Aunt Bessie’s is set to become part of Nomad Foods’ existing portfolio, which includes Birds Eye and the recently acquired Goodfella’s, following the closing of the acquisition.

Nomad Foods founder and co-chairman Noam Gottesman said: “The acquisition of Aunt Bessie’s illustrates the power of our value creation model, which is fuelled by organic revenue growth, strong free cash flow and disciplined mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

“Similar to Goodfella’s Pizza, which we acquired earlier this year, Aunt Bessie’s is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings, while providing complementary category exposure, synergy opportunities and new avenues for growth.

“We look forward to welcoming the Aunt Bessie’s team to our organisation and working together to build on their success.”

Aunt Bessie’s posted revenues and adjusted EBITDA of around €123m and €23m respectively for the fiscal year ended April 2018.

Nomad Foods expects to fund the acquisition via cash on hand and debt.

Credit Suisse served as financial advisor and Norton Rose Fulbright as legal advisor to Nomad Foods in support of the deal.

William Jackson & Son engaged Stamford Partners as financial advisor and Addleshaw Goddard as legal advisor for the transaction.