Vandemoortele N.V. and Dean Foods announce an agreement for Dean Foods to acquire Vandemoortele’s Alpro division
Vandemoortele, Belgium’s largest privately-held food company, and Dean Foods Company (NYSE:DF) announced an agreement for Dean Foods Company to acquire Vandemoortele’s Alpro Division. The transaction’s price is approximately €325 million. It is expected to be completed in the third quarter.
Jean Vandemoortele, President of the Group Executive Committee of Vandemoortele, said, “Earlier this year, we decided to change our strategy by focusing on our Frozen Bakery and Margarine & Fats activities, which represent together 80 percent of the Group's turnover and are essentially oriented towards professional and industrial customers. Selling Alpro to Dean Foods offers the best opportunities for future growth, both for our Frozen Bakery and Margarine & Fats activities, which will have the necessary resources to pursue their expansion in Europe, and for Alpro and its staff, which provides a strong European platform for Dean Foods.”
“We think this is a great deal and establishes Dean Foods as a clear global leader with over $1 billion in annual retail sales in the attractive soy beverages and related products category,” said Gregg Engles, Dean Foods Chairman and CEO. “This is one of the most strategic assets we could have acquired. We see significant opportunities to leverage the collective strengths of both businesses across a global soy platform to accelerate growth.”
Bernard Deryckere, CEO of Alpro, said, "I'm very optimistic about the future of Alpro. Our market strategy and strong values combined with our great staff have led to extraordinary results in the past. I am delighted that Dean Foods, a recognized leader in the branded soy products business, will be our parent company. With a shared passion for growing brands, it is my deepest belief that together we will now share even greater success."
With its Alpro® soya and Provamel® brands, Alpro is the European leader in branded soybased beverage and food products and had net sales of approximately €260 million in 2008. Alpro has five manufacturing sites in Belgium, the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands, and employs approximately 750 people.
Alpro CEO Bernard Deryckere will report to Joe Scalzo, CEO and President of Dean Foods WhiteWave-Morningstar division. Alpro will be run as a separate European business. The parties have committed to an agreement to acquire Alpro, a division of Vandemoortele, subject to customary works council procedures. Completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.
(June 2009)
For further information please contact:
Vandemoortele: Dirk Durez / dirk.durez@Vandemoortele.com / +32 9 240 18 00
Dean Foods - Media: Theo Moore / tmoore@apcoworldwide.com / +32 2 645 98 34;
Dean Foods - Investors & Analysts: Barry Sievert / Barry_Sievert@deanfoods.com / +1 214 303 3438
Alpro: Nathalie Isebaert / nathalie.isebaert@alpro.be / +32 9 260 21 01
About Dean Foods
Dean Foods is one of the leading food and beverage companies in the United States. The Company’s Fresh Dairy Direct business is the largest processor and distributor of milk and other dairy products in the country. The WhiteWave-Morningstar Business produces and sells a variety of nationally branded soy, dairy and dairy-related products. Popular brands include: Silk® soymilk, Horizon Organic® milk and dairy products, International Delight® coffee creamers, and LAND O’LAKES® creamers. Additionally, the WhiteWave-Morningstar segment produces and sells private label cultured and extended shelf life dairy products through the Morningstar platform.
About Alpro
Alpro is the European pioneer in soy-based products. For more than 25 years, Alpro has been championing health & wellness and a more sustainable way of producing tasty products that conserve the soy beans unique nutritional value. Today, Alpro is the pan-European market leader in branded soy food products with the brands Alpro ® and Provamel®. Alpro employs approximately 750 staff and has a turnover of some €260 million. Alpro has five state-of-the-art manufacturing sites in Belgium, the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Some of the statements in this press release are "forward-looking" and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These "forward-looking" statements include statements relating to, among other things, projected sales (including for individual segments, for specific product lines and for the company as a whole), profit margins, net income and earnings per share accretion, debt covenant compliance, growth strategy including acquisitions, branding initiatives, integration, innovation, and research and development plans, completion of announced acquisition and acquisition synergies, and cost-savings initiatives. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from the statements set forth in this press release. The Company's ability to meet targeted financial and operating results, including targeted sales, operating income, net income, debt covenant compliance, accretion and earnings per share depends on a variety of economic, competitive and governmental factors, including raw material availability and costs, the demand for the Company's products, and the Company's ability to access capital under its credit facilities or otherwise, many of which are beyond the Company's control and which are described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company's ability to profit from its branding initiatives depends on a number of factors including consumer acceptance of the Company's products. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this release. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to such statements to reflect any change in its expectations with regard thereto or any changes in the events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
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