Bonduelle announces the acquisition of certain of Allens, Inc's frozen vegetable operations in the United States

MONTREAL, March 9, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - The Bonduelle Group announces the acquisition by its North American subsidiary of three processing plants and one repackaging center for frozen vegetables belonging to the American company Allens, Inc.

The transaction, which is structured as an asset purchase, could be concluded at the end of March and concerns four of the five Allens frozen vegetable processing sites - Bergen, Oakfield and Brockport (State of New York) and Fairwater (Wisconsin) with approximately 400 permanent employees.

This transaction includes the Chill Ripe and Garden Classic brands, as well as a license to use certain brand names retained by Allens for a transitional period of 18 months. Allens, Inc., a family-owned business founded in 1926 and headquartered in Siloam Springs, Arkansas has historically specialized in canned vegetables.

In 2006, Allens entered the frozen vegetable segment by acquiring the Birds Eye industrial sites dedicated to the distributor's own brand products. In 2011, the Allens's sales of frozen vegetables at the four facilities being acquired by Bonduelle in the transaction represented a volume of around 150,000T in the USA, with approximately 44% going to the general public, 40% to Foodservice and 16% to industrial sales.  Allens will continue to own and operate its Montezuma, Georgia facility following the transaction, which specializes in frozen breaded vegetable products and Southern-style frozen vegetables.

About Bonduelle
Until now, Bonduelle North America, the leader in canned and frozen vegetables in Canada under distributors' own brands and under its own labels (Bonduelle, Arctic Gardens, etc.) with over 335,000T of vegetables grown in Quebec and Ontario, allocated approximately 30% of its production for export to the United States, mainly as frozen produce via the Foodservice networks. This acquisition will not only allow it to reinforce the growth of its US sales but will also enhance its ability to balance exchange rate and climate-related risks.

The Bonduelle Group, whose head office is located in Villeneuve d'Ascq in Northern France, is the world leader in prepared vegetables (canned, frozen, dehydrated, bagged salads and delicatessen products). It operates 42 production sites in Western Europe, Poland, Hungary, Russia, Canada and Brazil, with sales of €1,726 million and employs 7,250 permanent employees.

Gilles Corriveau
Enigma communications
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