Frozen food company Nomad Foods Ltd. – owner of the Birds Eye, Iglo and Findus brands – has entered into an agreement to acquire Green Isle Foods Ltd., owner of the Goodfella’s Pizza brand.
The company is being purchased from a subsidiary of Boparan Holdings Ltd. for approximately EUR 225 million (USD 274.8 million).
Goodfella’s Pizza manufactures and distributes a portfolio of branded and private label frozen pizzas in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The brand, which accounts for the majority of Goodfella’s Pizza revenues, was founded in 1993 and holds No.1 and No. 2 market share positions within the frozen pizza category in Ireland and the United Kingdom, respectively.
The acquisition also includes the San Marco brand and two frozen pizza manufacturing facilities that could provide a foundation for future expansion in the category.
Stefan Descheemaeker, CEO of Nomad Foods, said the acquisition of Goodfella’s Pizza would create a new and exciting growth avenue into frozen pizza.
This is a strategic category that is both sizable and complementary, he said.
“We have a strong foundation in place and are well positioned to create shareholder value as we apply our proven toolkit of capabilities to Goodfella’s Pizza and further develop our portfolio of iconic and market leading brands. We are excited to welcome the Goodfella’s Pizza employees to the Nomad family.”
Nomad Foods expects the acquisition to be immediately accretive to adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and adjusted earnings per share and, within two years post-closing, contribute approximately EUR 150 million (USD 183.1 million) revenue, EUR 22 million (USD 26.9 million) to EUR 25 million (USD 30.5 million) adjusted EBITDA and EUR 0.08 to EUR 0.09 adjusted earnings per share.
It is expected that the purchase will be completed in the first quarter of this year, subject to certain closing conditions.
In addition, Nomad Foods now expects 2017’s adjusted EBITDA to be approximately EUR 328 million (USD 400.4 million) versus the prior expectation of approximately EUR 325 million (USD 396.7 million) to EUR 327 million (USD 399.2 million) and organic revenue growth of approximately 5 percent for the fourth-quarter of 2017 versus prior guidance of approximately 3 percent.
Nomad Foods will report the three months ended 31 December, 2017, and audited full-year 2017 financial results in March.
