Ebro Foods, through its 100% owned subsidiary Panzani, I have received a binding offer from Midsona AB to acquire the entire capital of Alimentation Santé and its subsidiaries Celnat, Vegetalia and Satoki. In this context, Panzani entered into exclusive negotiations with Midsona AB.
As part of its 2019-2021 strategic reflection, Ebro has analyzed the strong investment required to achieve a relevant niche in the organic food business. In this scenario, and taking into account the great interest shown by some operators in the world, Ebro decided to negotiate with Midsona AB to sell her “Bio” business. This divestiture will allow Ebro to continue focusing its resources on promoting its distinct, new and relevant business, of which Ebro is a world leader. In addition, Midsona AB’s significant position in the “Bio” food business ensures the optimal development and growth of Alimentation Santé.
Alimentation Santé and its subsidiaries achieved net sales of €35 million in 2018. Selenate is a leading organic grain processing company. Vegetalia and Satoki offer a wide range of organic vegan products and vegan meat alternatives.
Midsona AB is a Swedish company listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm stock exchange. It is the first Nordic pioneer in organic food, healthy eating and healthcare. Medsona’s sales reached 271 million euros in 2018, and it has 525 employees. Medsona aspires to become one of the major players in organic foods also in Southern Europe.
Deal It was valued at 57.5 million euros (The value of the company is free of cash and debt).
draft deal Will be submitted to workers’ representatives for information and consultationCompulsory procedure in France. The transaction is expected to be executed on October 1, 2019.
sales growth
The net turnover, driven by the good performance of brands, It grew by 7.6% compared to the previous year and amounted to 1,356.8 million euros.
EBITDA or aggregate operating result It grows by 6% to 159.4 million euros, once you have adapted rates to the cost inflation that occurred in 2018.
The above figures, sales and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, Alimentation Santé’s contribution does not include in the first half of 2019, The result of this is recorded as stopped activity.
net profit, meanwhile, 74.5 million euros, 2.5% less than that obtained in the same period of 2018. If we look exclusively at its development in the quarter, we note a growth of 14%, which already shows a change in trend compared to the previous year.
Net debt increased to €832 million127 million euros more than at the end of 2018, mainly due to the application of IFRS 16, which amends the accounting for leases forcing us to capitalize 80.7 million euros. This figure also includes the accounting of Puts we have with a minority of some companies, which is 160 million euros, and the October dividend payment of 29.2 million euros. The €57.5 million that we are entering from the sale of Alimentation Santé has not been deducted from it.
Results by lines of action
rice area
The North American business It’s back on the trajectory of profitability thanks to the Freeport business reorganization measures and a pass on the cost-inflation rates in logistics, packaging and raw materials it experienced during the previous year.
employment Europe, Raw material prices were affected as a result of the approval of the safeguard clause on rice imports from Cambodia and Myanmar.
Brands are developing very satisfactorily in both markets, which highlights the round and microwave sales behavior of Spain.
The sales number It is €758.7 million and EBITDA is €96.8 million.
noodle area
employment EuropeIn the field of raw materials, we saw a double rise in prices as a result of lower yields, both in Spain and Italy.
PanzaniAfter five very good months in sales, there was a drop in sales during June, due to the harshness of the heat wave and the lack of promotions to increase profitability. Already during July, consumption returned to normal.
Garofalo It continues to advance very positively in Spain and France, leading the luxury car segment in these markets.
The North American businessOn the other hand, it has had a mixed development, with good results in Canada, where health and wellness products have registered a very satisfactory performance; And a less positive development in the United States was motivated by the imbalances it experienced in the service, which had already been resolved.
The sales number It stands at 627.6 million euros and EBITDA at 68.5 million euros. These figures no longer include the works of Alimentation Santé.
