Bremerhaven, Germany-headquartered FRoSTA AG is engaged in negotiations to buy Nestlé’s La Valle Degli Orti, Mare Fresco and Surgela frozen food brands in Italy.
In a statement issued on April 10, the prospective buyer said: “In the framework of the exclusivity, FRoSTA is currently examining whether such an investment would be beneficial for the company.”
MainFirst analyst Alain Oberhuber estimates that combined sales volume of the brands is approximately EUR 100 million per annum.
“We assume that the divestment multiples are interesting at the moment as average transaction multiples for frozen prepared dishes/culinary businesses are around two times sales and around 11 EBITDA,” he advised investors.
FRoSTA, which has long been established in the frozen fish, vegetables, fruits and ready meals sectors in Europe, recently reported annual sales of EUR 446 million for 2016 – up by 5.9% over the previous year. Consolidated net profits amounted to EUR 21.6 million, compared to EUR 18.2 million in 2015.
