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Hain Celestial, the natural foods firm, has announced it has agreed a deal to sell its Tilda brand of basmati and speciality rice to the Spanish consumer goods firm Ebro Foods for $342 million in cash.
The firm said it was planning to use a portion of the sale proceeds to pay down debt, and was evaluating distribution alternatives for the remainder.
Tilda operates two plants in Rainham (UK) and employs 326 staff. Its net sales in the past year, up to June 2019, totalled £152.6 million ($186.5 million).
Commenting on the deal, Hain Celestial president and CEO Mark L Schiller said: “We are pleased to complete the strategic sale of Tilda, which is consistent with our transformational plan to simplify our portfolio, strengthen our core capabilities and expand margins and cash flow. Tilda has been a strong business for us, primarily in the United Kingdom, and under new strategic ownership, we expect the brand to continue to thrive. We believe this transaction represents a significant premium to a majority of other European food and global rice and pasta industry transactions over the last several years”.
In a statement, Ebro Foods said the deal would give the company a strong foothold in the UK market.
“In addition, Ebro believes that Tilda’s international nature will pave the way for extensive development with other Group products”, the company added.
Source: Hain Celestial / Ebro Foods
