The Welsh manufacturer was purchased from ambient food group Valeo Foods, which last month acquired the Kettle Foods snack brand in a deal worth £66m.
Nimbus’ acquisition included its BRC AA grade factory in Dolgellau, which supplies food manufacturers worldwide across categories such as bakery, confectionery, ice cream, desserts and cereals.
Specialist food and drink lawyers at Walker Morris, headline sponsor at Food Manufacture’s Business Leaders Forum, advised the sale of Nimbus to Meadow Foods.
Strengthen Meadow Foods’ position
Commenting on the purchase, Meadow Foods chief executive Mark Chantler said: “Nimbus fits perfectly with our growth strategy of pushing further into the value-added ingredients space. This acquisition will further diversify our portfolio and strengthen our position as a leading supplier of confectionery ingredients.
“There is a large customer overlap and we continue to grow with the demands of our customers, who are looking for strategic partners that can offer unique ingredients solutions.”
Meadow Foods supplies value-added dairy ingredients to the food industry and employs more than 400 people across four BRC AA accredited sites in Chester, Peterborough, Holme-on-Spalding Moor and Dolgellau.
Exponent investment
The announcement came just over a year after an investment into Meadow Foods from private equity firm Exponent to boost the manufacturer’s expansion and acquisitions. The deal saw the firm buy key investor Paine Schwartz’s full shareholding.
The past month has seen a number of acquisitions in the food and drink industry. London Food Corporation has acquired free-from food firm Big Oz Industries for an undisclosed sum, providing fresh impetus for it to grow its presence in UK and overseas markets.
Meanwhile, Bakkafrost has entered into an agreement with Northern Link to acquire the firm’s 68.6% stake of shares in The Scottish Salmon Company (SSC).
