Ice cream manufacturer scoops multi-million pound acquisition
Froneri, the Northallerton-headquartered ice cream manufacturer, has secured another major acquisition to further expand its reach.
Froneri – the group formed in 2016 by the merger of R&R Ice Cream and Nestlé – has agreed to acquire Noga Ice Creams in a multi-million pound deal, subject to regulatory approval.
Noga is part of the Nestlé-owned business Osem Group and means Froneri will be entering the Israeli market for the first time. The “milestone” deal will now bring all of the Nestlé Europe, Middle East & North Africa ice cream businesses into the Froneri group. Froneri has confirmed that the existing management team will continue to lead the business.
The deal comes just two months after Froneri snapped up New Zealand’s Tip Top ice cream.
Meanwhile, the firm has today published its accounts on Companies House for the year ended December 31 2018. These show that the firm topped revenues of £2.3bn – up from £2.2bn the year before. It also narrowed its pre-tax losses for the period to £139m, down from £163m the previous year.
Of the latest deal secured, Ibrahim Najafi, CEO of Froneri, said: “We’re very excited to be building on the strengths of our existing joint venture with Nestlé. By entering Israel we’re continuing to realise our vision of becoming the world’s best ice cream company.
“Our consumers are at the heart of our business and we intend to invest in the local brands, products and flavours that Nestlé has been exciting the market with for over 20 years. We’re looking forward to welcoming the team into Froneri.”
Marco Settembri, CEO Zone Europe, Middle East and North Africa, Nestlé said: “With its continued growth and global prominence in the ice cream market, Froneri’s success speaks for itself. This milestone deal marks the final stage of the transition of our EMENA ice cream businesses into Froneri, further strengthening its presence in the region.”
In its company accounts, Froneri said while headquartered in Northerallerton, the firm operated in 26 factories across 17 countries during 2018. Its total ice cream production capacity stood at 2bn litres and the firm employs 10,000 people in five continents.
Froneri is a joint venture between private equity firm PAI Partners and Nestlé. It was formed in 2016 as a result of the merger of R&R Ice Cream in Northerallerton and the frozen food business of Nestlé.
The firm said it secured revenue growth of 3.58% year-on-year, with summer weather in 2018 increasing its market volumes across Europe.
Froneri added: “Froneri is now a leader in the global ice cream market, with powerful positions in more than 20 markets globally and is the number one producer of private label ice cream. The Group is well positioned, with a proven and experienced management team, to exploit opportunities, to capture significant cost synergies, enhance margins and drive opportunities to grow sales from key brands.”
