Nomad Holding in talks to buy Nordic, southern European units of Findus
05 Jun 2015
Britain's Bird's Eye fish finger maker Nomad Holding Ltd is in talks to buy the Nordic and southern European units of frozen food Findus Group Ltd, in a deal that could be valued at around €800 million ($900 million).
Nomad, which recently purchased Iglo Foods for €2.79 billion, (See: Nomad Holdings to buy Europe's biggest frozen foods company Iglo Foods for $2.79 bn) yesterday confirmed media reports that it was in talks for the continental European businesses of Findus Group, but did not say whether this included the Nordic unit.
Findus Group today said that the Nordic and southern Europe unit was also part of the sale talks.
According to French newspaper Le Figaro, Nomad has tabled a bid for around €800 million while French private equity Florac had offered to pay €200 million and only for the southern Europe units.
A merger of Findus and Iglo would create a frozen food giant with products spanning fish fingers, peas and microwavable lasagna.
Findus is one of Europe's largest frozen food and seafood companies with leading brands, 6,000 employees and over £1 billion turnover.
Operationally decentralised into 3 regional clusters, Findus is the parent company of Findus in the Nordics, Young's Seafood Limited in the UK and Findus in Southern Europe.
Findus is a leader in frozen foods in the Nordics, a leading frozen and chilled seafood company in the UK and a fast growing frozen food business in Southern Europe.
In the Nordics, Findus is an iconic brand selling frozen food across all major categories of fish, vegetables, meals and bakery. In the UK Young's Seafood has a market leading position in branded seafood through the Young's brand and supplies many major UK retailers with private label seafood, while in Southern Europe, Findus is the market leader in frozen food in France and the market leader in frozen vegetables in Spain.
Findus is also the market leader in frozen food in France and the market leader in frozen vegetables in Spain.
Nomad was founded in 2013 by founder of investment firm Toms Capital and co-founder of hedge fund GLG Partners Noam Gottesman and Martin Franklin, founder and executive chairman of Jarden Corp.