Newlat agrees to buy Italian dairy group Centrale Latte d'Italia

Centrale del Latte d'Italia SpA

31/03/2020 07:53

MILAN, March 31 (Reuters) - Italian food group Newlat
 NWLF.MI  said on Tuesday it had signed an agreement to buy a
46.24% stake in dairy group Centrale del Latte d'Italia (CLI)
 CLII.MI , in a deal that will create the third biggest domestic
operator in the sector.
    The Parma-based owner of the Delverde pasta brand said it
would buy the CLI stake from a group of shareholders, including
top investor Finanziaria Centrale del Latte di Torino, at a
price of 1 euro and 0.33 Newlat ordinary shares for each CLI
share. 
    Newlat will then launch a mandatory takeover bid on the
remaining CLI shares at the same price. The CLI shareholders
selling their stake will reinvest in Newlat by buying a 5.3%
shareholding.     
    Newlat, which produces pasta, bakery products and baby food,
said that the acquisition will boost its revenue to 500 million
euros ($533 million).     
    CLI produces and sells about 120 products including milk and
its derivatives, with brands such as TappoRosso, Mukki, Tigullio
and Vicenza. CLI recorded revenues of 180 million euros ($198.04
million) last year and core earnings of around 6 million euros.
    Newlat said its revenues rose 5% to 320 million last year
driven by pasta and dairy products. 
    The company said on March 19 that in the first two weeks of
March, when Italians stocked up food products in response to
concerns about coronavirus, it recorded a 35% rise in sales
compared with the same period last year.

($1 = 0.9089 euros)

 (Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro, editing by Andrew Heavens)
 ((gianluca.semeraro@tr.com; +39 02 66 129 503;))