Irish pet food manufacturer C&D Foods Group has become the second-largest European private label manufacturer in the category, following the acquisition of Danish company Arovit Acquisitions.
C&D Foods CEO Philip Reynolds told the Irish Times that the deal will give the group a turnover of around €320 million this year and said Arovit is a "very good fit” for the company. The Danish company will be amalgamated into C&D, a subsidiary of ABP Food Group, one of Europe's largest privately-owned meat processors. “We will hopefully now have a customer base that stretches right across Europe,” Reynolds said.
While the acquisition price was not disclosed, it is thought that Arovit’s debts of about €8 million have been undertaken as part of the deal. The seller of the Arovit business is Kaupthing, an Icelandic financial institution.
C&D is now second only to Saturn Pet Foods as the leading private label pet food producer.
Set up in 1969, the Danish manufacturer has production facilities in Denmark, Austria, Spain and Britain, with sales offices in Italy and Germany. Employing 620 staff, Arovit produces 250,000 tonnes annually, with a turnover of €200 million. Its brands include Jolly, Wooffy, Naturalise, First Class, Triple Crown and Canter. Reynolds added, "We share a lot of similar production technologies but our mix of capacities is different.”
C&D enlarged its size in 2010 with the purchase of Nestlé’s pet food operations in the Netherlands. (28 Sept)
© 2012 - ESM: European Supermarket