Riviana Foods to divest Ronzoni pasta brand to Post Holdings

Ebro subsidiary Riviana Foods has agreed to offload its Ronzoni dry pasta brand to 8^th Avenue Foods & Provisions, an affiliate of Post Holdings, in a deal valued at $95 million.

The deal includes the Ronzoni brand, as well as a dry pasta manufacturing facility in Winchester, Virginia.

For the purpose of the transaction, Ebro Foods says the business has been valued at $95 million. The Ronzoni unit also generated net sales of approximately $102 million in 2019 and $115.8 million in 2020.

The agreement comes after Riviana sold the majority of its US branded pasta portfolio to TreeHouse Foods, including San Giorgio, and Creamette, along with its St. Louis manufacturing facility. Ebro Foods also recently sold its Catelli dry pasta business in Canada to Barilla.

Owned by Post Holdings, 8^th Avenue Foods & Provisions is a consumer product holding company, which manufactures private brand food products such as nut butter, granola and pasta.

Following the divestment, Ebro maintains its presence in the North American market through its dry and fresh pasta business – including Garofalo, Bertagni and Olivieri – its frozen products (Ebrofrost) and rice products such as its Tilda brand.

Scott McNair, CEO of 8th Avenue Foods & Provisions, said: “With its highly on-trend, versatile product offering, state-of-the art facility, and impressive customer base, Ronzoni has a strong foundation from which to build on its leading market presence.

“Together with the Ronzoni team, we look forward to driving further growth and scale by delivering innovative products to all our loyal customers”.

The transaction – which is subject to certain closing conditions and regulatory approval – is expected to be finalised in the second quarter of 2021.