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The owner of Birds Eye has cooked up a \u20ac225m ($275m) deal to buy frozen food brand Goodfella\u2019s Pizza from the parent company behind Fox\u2019s Biscuits and Bernard Matthews.<\/p>\nThe owner of Birds Eye has cooked up a \u20ac225m ($275m) deal to buy frozen food brand Goodfella\u2019s Pizza from the parent company behind Fox\u2019s Biscuits and Bernard Matthews.<\/p>\n
Nomad Foods has snapped up Goodfella\u2019s from Green Isle Foods, a subsidiary of Boparan Holdings which is spearheaded by the food mogul Ranjit Boparan.<\/p>\n
It will see the group take charge of pizza brands Goodfella\u2019s and San Marco, and two frozen pizza manufacturing facilities, as it eyes market expansion.<\/p>\n
Goodfella\u2019s, which is the market leader in Ireland and holds the second biggest market share in the UK, is expected to bolster Nomad\u2019s revenues by 150 million euros ($183 million) and earnings by between 22 million euros ($27 million) and 25 million euros ($31 million) two years after the takeover closes.<\/p>\n
The deal is expected to be sealed by the first quarter of 2018.<\/p>\n
It comes amid speculation that Mr Boparan is also lining up a tie-up between Fox\u2019s Biscuits and Wagon Wheels-owner Burton\u2019s Foods.<\/p>\n
Nomad Foods chief executive Stefan Descheemaeker said: \u201cThe acquisition of Goodfella\u2019s Pizza comes at an exciting time for our company.<\/p>\n
\u201c2017 was a banner year as investments in our core portfolio translated into strong organic revenue growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe exited the year on a high note, with our updated guidance reflecting better-than-expected top and bottom-line performance during the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoodfella\u2019s Pizza creates a new and exciting growth avenue into frozen pizza, a strategic category that is both sizable and complementary.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a strong foundation in place and are well positioned to create shareholder value as we apply our proven toolkit of capabilities to Goodfella\u2019s Pizza and further develop our portfolio of iconic and market-leading brands.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Boparan, known as the so-called \u201cchicken king\u201d for his hefty involvement in the poultry trade through his ownership of the 2 Sisters\u2019 Food Group, has struck a string of deals over the past two years.<\/p>\n
In 2016, he snapped up turkey meat producer Bernard Matthews from private equity group Rutland Partners in a pre-pack administration.<\/p>\n
In a similar vein his restaurant arm, which houses Harry Ramsden\u2019s fish and chip shop, bought Ed\u2019s Easy Diner and Giraffe.<\/p>\n
On the Goodfella\u2019s deal, Nomad Foods co-chairman Noam Gottesman said: \u201cOver the past two years, Stefan and the team have successfully integrated two of Europe\u2019s largest frozen food businesses while strengthening the core product offering.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith strong organic revenue growth momentum, the time is right to expand into new strategic categories such as pizza, which offer adjacent avenues for further growth and synergies.\u201d<\/p>\n