Ebro Foods has acquired US rice business Best Rice in a deal valued at $47m.
The Spain-based food group completed the transaction during the third quarter, disclosing the purchase in its nine-month financial results. No other details for the purchase were provided.
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The third quarter also saw Ebro finalise the $17m acquisition of a production plant in Saint Charles, Missouri, for its Bertagni fresh pasta unit.
Ebro said the facility will “enable local production to be gradually phased in over the course of 2027”.
The group added that it is continuing investments to expand production capacity for its frozen-food unit Ebrofrost and pasta brand Garofalo.
Expansion in the US came against what Ebro described as a “challenging environment shaped by rising energy and logistics costs driven by geopolitical tensions and conflicts in the Middle East, adverse foreign-exchange movements and an increase in the average US tariff rate”.
During the nine-month period, Ebro recorded a turnover of €2.22bn ($2.47bn), down 2.3% year-on-year.
The group pointed to “lower raw material prices and the depreciation of the US dollar”.
Adjusted EBITDA slipped 1.4% to €307m, which included a €4.9m negative foreign- exchange impact.
Net profit dropped 2.7% to €150.1m. The prior-year comparative included a €12m exceptional capital gain from the sale of a warehouse in France.
Higher energy and plastic packaging costs added €22.5m in expenses during the first nine months, which have not yet been passed through to prices, the publicly listed group said.
Net debt fell by €79.3m from the end of 2025 to €450.1m, following €111m in capital expenditure and €111.6m in dividend payouts.
For the full year, Ebro forecast adjusted EBITDA of €410m to €415m, noting that a potential easing in energy costs could lift the result by approximately €30m.
The rice division generated a turnover of €1.71bn and adjusted EBITDA of €255.4m.
In the US, Ebro’s subsidiary Riviana gained share in aromatic and premium speciality rice, taking its share of the ready-to-serve category to 23.3%, according to the group.
Turnover in the pasta division stood at €518.7m, with adjusted EBITDA of €63.9m, affected by European heatwaves and the introduction of a 10% US import tariff.
