Eagle, Idaho, USA-headquartered Lamb Weston Holdings on February 28 announced completion of purchase of the remaining equity interests in its European joint venture with Kruiningen, Netherlands-headquartered Meijer Frozen Foods BV. The final transaction consideration consisted of €525 million in cash, subject to certain adjustments, and 1,952,421 shares of Lamb Weston common stock.
The buyer now owns 100% of Lamb-Weston/Meijer, v.o.f., which formerly operated as a 50/50 joint venture between a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lamb Weston and Meijer Frozen Foods. With the acquisition, the company adds an additional five manufacturing plants to its footprint worldwide, including four facilities in the Netherlands and one in the United Kingdom, as well as a sixth factory operated through a 75% interest in a joint venture in Austria. These facilities produce nearly two billion pounds (910,000 metric tons) of finished frozen potato products annually.
While it was a 50% owner of Lamb-Weston/Meijer, the company recorded its 50% portion of earnings in Equity Method Investment Earnings in financial statements. As of the transaction closing, Lamb-Weston/Meijer will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lamb Weston Holdings, and the company will fully consolidate Lamb-Weston/Meijer’s results in its financial statements.
In business for more than 70 years, Lamb Weston is a leading supplier of frozen potato, sweet potato, appetizer and vegetable products to restaurants and retailers around the world.
