Glanbia proposes €160m sale of mozzarella JV to partner Leprino Foods

Leprino Foods has signed a non-binding agreement to acquire full ownership of European mozzarella maker Glanbia Cheese.

Glanbia Cheese is one of Europe’s leading producers of mozzarella and comprises Glanbia Cheese UK and Glanbia Cheese EU.

If the sale goes ahead, Glanbia will receive an initial cash consideration in excess of €160 million for its stake in Glanbia Cheese, with a possible additional consideration of up to €25 million over the next three years, dependent on business performance.

Post completion, the existing teams at Glanbia Cheese’s three manufacturing facilities across Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland will continue to manage the business, led by CEO Paul Vernon, without disruption to day-to-day operations.

Mike Durkin, president and CEO of Leprino Foods, said: “Having successfully partnered with Glanbia since 2000, we are proud of the high-quality business that we have helped build. We look forward to working with Paul Vernon and the local team to ensure a seamless transition for our employees, customers and suppliers.”

Glanbia stated that the sale will enable the company to focus on its position as a better nutrition company continuing to tap into consumer health and wellness trends.

Siobhán Talbot, group managing director of Glanbia, added: “As we have evolved our portfolio at Glanbia in recent years, we have become very focused on our nutrition strategy, serving consumer health and wellness categories through our brands and ingredient solutions business. From [Glanbia’s] perspective the logic of this transaction is clear as it allows us to focus on our core better nutrition strategy and to allocate further capital to our global growth businesses.”

Paul Vernon, CEO of Glanbia Cheese, added: “We are excited by this proposed transaction which will see us align our business into Leprino Foods, the largest and most successful mozzarella business in the world. Glanbia Cheese will be a strong fit within Leprino Foods, with its strategic focus on our category.”

Subject to the completion of due diligence and execution of definitive agreements, the potential transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2023.