Canada: Premium Brands announces three acquisitions

Canada: Premium Brands announces three acquisitions

Canadian speciality foods firm Premium Brands has announced an expansion in bakery, pasta and deli foods with the acquisition of Island City Baking, Conte Foods and Larosa Fine Foods.

Located in Richmond, BC, Canada, Island City Baking is a manufacturer of fresh and frozen artisan bread, including sandwich loaves, rolls, rye and sourdough loaves, ciabatta and baguettes, and rustic loaves. Conte Foods is a distributor of speciality food products, including goods imported from Europe and pasta manufactured at a facility in Burnaby, BC, Canada. Conte Foods and Island City Baking combined have annual sales of approximately C$20 million ($15.0 million), and the deal for the two firms was valued at C$20.3 million ($15.3 million).

Larosa Fine Foods is a manufacturer and wholesaler of speciality Italian products including deli foods, spreads, olives and cheese, and has been acquired for C$700,000 ($527,000) in cash.

Commenting on the Island City Baking and Conte Foods deals, Premium Brands president and CEO George Paleologou said: "Both Island City and Conte Foods have built strong reputations for manufacturing great, high-quality products and providing exceptional service to their customers. The dynamic and entrepreneurial cultures [...] at Island City and Conte Foods make these businesses a perfect fit with Premium Brands".

On the deal for Larosa Fine Foods, which is to be merged with Conte Foods post-acquisition, he added: "The new combined business [...] will position us well in a fast growing, niche segment of the specialty food space.  Furthermore, we expect to accelerate its growth by enabling it to leverage Premium Brands’ resources including our extensive sales and marketing infrastructure in Canada and the U.S.".

Source: Food Business News