Dean Foods To Acquire Vandemoortele’s Alpro Division
Published:15-June-2009
By Staff Reporter
Transaction's price approximately E325m
Dean Foods company has signed an agreement to acquire the Alpro division of Vandemoortele, Belgium's privately held food company. The transaction's price is approximately E325m and the transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter.
Alpro deals with soy-based beverage and food products, with net sales of approximately E260m in 2008. Alpro has five manufacturing sites in Belgium, the UK, France and the Netherlands, and employs approximately 750 people.
Gregg Engles, chairman and CEO of Dean Foods, said: "We think this is a great deal that establishes Dean Foods as a clear global leader in the attractive soy beverages and related products category, with over $1 billion in combined annual retail sales. This is one of the most strategic assets we could have acquired. We see significant opportunities to leverage the collective strengths of both businesses across a global soy platform to accelerate growth."
Joe Scalzo, CEO and president of whitewave-morningstar division of Dean Foods, said: "We are confident that this is a winning acquisition. We fundamentally believe that the soy market is an emerging category with potential to bring more nutritious soy products to more people in more places around the world."
Alpro CEO Bernard Deryckere will report to Joe Scalzo, CEO and President of Dean Foods' WhiteWave-Morningstar division. Alpro will be run as a separate European business.
