MILAN, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Italy’s Barilla has finalised a deal to buy dry pasta firm Catelli from Spain’s Ebro Foods in a deal worth around 107 million euros ($130 million), the two groups said on Monday.
For the family-owned company this is the second acquisition in less than a month, after it announced a deal to purchase a majority stake in Britain’s Pasta Evangelists.
With the latest transaction, Barilla will get three brands of Catelli and a production plant in Montreal, increasing the Italian group’s exposure to North America.
“Given the synergies between our business strategies, commitments and values, Catelli dry pasta is a natural fit for the expansion of our business,” Barilla Chief Executive Claudio Colzani said in a statement.
The world’s biggest pasta maker also said it planned to roll out 1 billion euro investments in its home-country between 2020 and 2024.
The money will fund several different projects including improvements of Barilla’s existing pasta production sites and acquisitions. Last year, the group finalised the purchase of a pasta plant in the northeast of Italy.
($1 = 0.8272 euros)
(Reporting by Francesca Landini, editing by Louise Heavens)
Source: Reuters