November 5, 2015

Nomad Foods Limited (Nomad) announced it has successfully completed the £500 million acquisition of Findus Sverige AB and its subsidiaries from LionGem Sweden 1 AB, which is backed by investors including Lion Capital LLP, Highbridge Principal Strategies, and Sankaty Advisors.

The deal gives Nomad control of Findus Group’s European businesses in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, France, Spain, and Belgium, along with six manufacturing facilities, and the intellectual property and commercialization rights to the La Cocinera, Lutosa, and Findus brands in their applicable markets.

This deal strengthens Nomad’s standing as the largest frozen food company in Western Europe, with a majority market share across the European countries of Sweden, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Portugal, and Spain. It also re-joins Nomad’s Findus-brand business in Italy with the Findus brand businesses operating in other neighboring countries. The completion of this deal brings Nomad’s operations to 10 factories across 15 countries, 4,300 employees, and an expanded portfolio of products.

"The closing of this acquisition demonstrates our ability to successfully execute against our defined strategy,” noted Nomad's co-founders and co-chairmen, Noam Gottesman and Martin E. Franklin. Bringing these businesses together will yield substantial synergies, which we intend to re-invest in our ongoing growth and expansion. As we work to build a best-in-class global consumer foods company, we are encouraged by the opportunity set and remain focused on creating value for all of our stakeholders."

At closing, £400 million of the transaction was funded through a combination of cash on hand and a new senior term loan. The selling party was also issued approximately 8.4 million ordinary shares in Nomad representing 5% of the issued ordinary share capital of the group.

The added scale and extensive reach that this acquisition gives Nomad, will enable the group to develop and advance its plans for innovation and product development to meet consumer demands.

"The complementary nature of our footprint and the strength of our combined brands across Europe significantly enhance Nomad's scale and competitive offering,” said Stéfan Descheemaeker, Nomad's Chief Executive Officer. “The Birdseye, Iglo, and Findus brands have played key roles in defining the frozen food category over the past decades, and together will be better positioned to continue bringing fresh and 'better-for-you' meal options to consumers across Europe."