Saputo, a Canadian dairy company, has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the specialty cheese business of Lion Australia for A$280 million ($197 million).
The deal is said to include all of Lion Australia’s specialty cheese brands, including King Island Dairy, Tasmanian Heritage, South Cape, Mersey Valley, Heidi Farm and Australian Gold, as well as cheese manufacturing assets at Burnie (The Heritage) and King Island (King Island Dairy and Cheese Store), and the two Lion-owned farms on King Island (Horizon Glen and Kyeema).
“When we announced the decision to progress a sale of the Dairy & Drinks business last year, we made clear our intention to identify the best future ownership arrangements for the Dairy & Drinks business, and to ensure both Dairy & Drinks and the Lion business are ideally positioned for growth – with the right people, assets and investment behind their respective strategies”, Lion Australia CEO Stuart Irvine said in a statement.
“Saputo is ideally positioned to drive the business forward, given its deep dairy capabilities, complementary portfolio and commitment to the cheese category domestically”, he added.
Source: Saputo / Lion