Sara Lee acquisition the ‘cherry on top’ for McCain Foods
McCain Foods this week announced it has completed the acquisition of Kitchens of Sara Lee (KOSL) Australia from Hillshire Brands.
The transaction, initiated on December 18 2012, is valued at $82 million and is set to boost McCain Foods offering.
The acquisition of Kitchens of Sara Lee includes a manufacturing facility at Lisarow, New South Wales, as well as license rights to the Sara Lee brand and certain intellectual property used in the Australian bakery business in the Asia-Pacific region.
McCain Foods Australia and New Zealand managing director Mr Steve Yung said that the Sara Lee acquisition was promising for McCain Foods.
“Sara Lee is a great addition to our family of frozen foods and will provide a platform for growth. We are now focused on a smooth integration of the new business without disruption to our consumers and customers,” Mr Yung said.
Kitchens of Sara Lee is well known for manufacturing, selling and distributing a range of frozen desserts, premium ice cream, pastries, frozen savoury meals and frozen fruit categories.
McCain Australia/New Zealand, based in Ballarat, is a subsidiary of McCain Foods Limited which specialises in frozen potato products, vegetables, dinners, pizza and frozen fruit, for both the Retail and Foodservice sectors. McCain will now also specialise in production of Sara Lee’s frozen products.
McCain currently operates eight production facilities, which are located on five sites throughout Australia and New Zealand.
Congratulations to Steve Young and McCain for this aquisition.
Pierre Chamas