Italy’s Euricom has expanded its rice portfolio with the acquisition of France-based Ebly, a joint venture between Mars and agri-cooperative Axéréal.
The transaction, struck for an undisclosed sum, is estimated to close by around the end of April, subject to approval from the Ebly works council.
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Euricom said in a statement the deal includes the Ebly brand and a manufacturing facility in Châteaudun in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France.
Ebly was formed by Mars and Axéréal in 2000. It produces ready-to-heat (RTH) rice-based products under its own brands and is also a co-manufacturer for Mars’ Ben’s Original line.
Mars will continue commercial arrangements for the Ebly brand, which also includes pre-cooked wheat products, until “at least” the end of the year, according to the statement.
“Ebly pioneered and leads the pre-cooked wheat category, complementing Euricom’s existing offering of wheat-based products including dry pasta, wheat flour and semolina,” Euricom said.
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By GlobalData“The Ebly brand would be a valuable addition to Euricom’s portfolio of leading local brands in the grains category, such as Curtiriso and Flora in Italy, and Sonko in Poland.”
The transaction for Sonko, which produces rice cakes, crispbreads and rice, was initiated in 2024.
Bruno Sempio, the chairman of Euricom, said: “We are grateful to Mars and Axéréal for the trust they have placed in Euricom as the next potential stewards of Ebly.
“We look forward to working together with Ebly’s specialised team and leveraging the Châteaudun state-of-the-art facility to further develop the RTH sector and provide a comprehensive product offering to our customers across Europe, while building valued partnerships with Mars and Axereal.”
The Châteaudun facility has the capacity to produce 100 million pouches of rice a year for markets in the EU.
Backed by Japan’s Mitsui Co. since 2023, Euricom said it plans to develop the Ebly brand and boost its retail presence.
The Italian business sources rice from growing regions in southern Europe, South America and South Asia. It operates 14 production plants in Europe, including in Italy, Spain, France, Portugal and Greece. As well as Sonko, it owns the Curtiriso and Flora brands.
Euricom acquired the Flora rice brand from the Colussi Group in 2021 and Curtiriso under the Curti group in 1994.
Also in 2024, it set up set up a joint venture in Pakistan – Fatima Euricom – for basmati rice with local business Fatima Rice.
Based in the north-west Italian province of Pavia, the company supplies the retail, foodservice and B2B channels. It also produces flour and bran products, trades in commodities, and has a presence in engineering and the energy sectors, designing and building industrial facilities.
