News 2006
Lactalis strengthens its position on the European cheese market
Lactalis group, based in Laval in France, has signed an agreement to take over the Milan-based company Galbani from funds advised by BC partners. The transaction is subject to approval from competition authorities, which will be contacted by both parties.
Galbani posted a turnover of 1.3 billion euros, mainly from Italian-style cheese, but also from cured meats, which represent 15% of its activity.
In addition to one cured meat plant, the company processes almost 800 million litres of milk in three cheese production plants in northern Italy.
Galbani's product range is mainly composed of mozarella, mascarpone and ricotta cheese sold under the Santa Lucia and Galbani brands, but also includes the Bel Paese mild cheeses and other traditionnal italian specialities.
23% of turnover comes from export.
The creation of a European-scale group will enable the development of these specialities on all markets currently covered by Lactalis and Galbani.
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BC Partners
BC Partners is a leading pan-European private equity
firm, operating through integrated teams based in Geneva, Hamburg,
London, Milan and Paris. The latest fund BC European Capital VIII
closed in May 2005 with over €5.7bn of commitments and is one
of the largest European buy-out funds to date. Over 17 years the
firm has developed a long track record of successfully acquiring
and developing European businesses in partnership with management,
investing in 60 acquisitions with a combined enterprise value of
EUR 42.7 billion. Recent investments include the following: Fitness
First (UK, £835m), Amadeus (Spain, €4.6bn),
Dometic (Sweden, €1.1bn), Picard (France, €1.3bn) and Baxi
(UK, €984m).
Contacts:
Lactalis
Luc Morelon +33 243 594 121
Cardew Group for BC Partners
Richard Spiegelberg +44 20 7930 0777