Cerealto, the Spanish private-label manufacturer, has agreed to sell its pasta business to Portuguese agri-food group Cerealis.
The deal includes the associated manufacturing site in Venta de Baños, Palencia, according to a statement Cerealto issued on Friday (13 February).
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Cerealis, in a short LinkedIn note, said the facility has an annual capacity of about 90,000 tonnes.
A spokesperson for Cerealto declined to confirm the factory output figures, adding that the financial terms of the transaction remain confidential.
Around 125 staff are employed at the Venta de Baños site and all will transfer to the new owners, the spokesperson said.
The Portuguese group said the acquisition will create “important synergies” in key strategic areas, helping deliver “increased scale and enhanced international competitiveness”.
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By GlobalDataCerealto said the sale fits with its decision to focus on its “core” snacking and breakfast categories, where it sees the “greatest potential for its future growth”.
It also described the pasta unit as “profitable” and said it has benefited from sustained investment in recent years.
Cerealto added the business will “best reach its potential” under a specialist pasta player like Cerealis.
The Cerealto spokesperson added third-party manufacturing will now include biscuits, cereals, snacking bars, and corn and rice cakes in Europe, the UK, the US and Mexico.
On jobs and operations, Cerealto said in the statement the transaction “guarantees” continuity at Venta de Baños.
“No changes are envisaged to the workforce, operations, or the day-to-day activities of the business,” the statement read.
Cerealto CEO Bosco Fonts said: “Our pasta business has been high-performing and value accretive, which has benefitted from substantial capital investment in recent years.
“We are pleased to have met a new operator that is a specialist in the pasta and has the capability to continue developing the business, while retaining the employment and working conditions for our colleagues in the pasta business unit.”
The agreement is subject to approvals from Spain’s CNMC (National Commission on Markets and Competition) and Portugal’s AdC (Competition Authority).
“Once necessary authorisations are obtained, we will begin a transition phase to ensure a seamless transfer to the new owner. Until then, the business will continue to operate as normal, fully meeting our commitments to customers,” Fonts added.
Backed by Davidson Kempner Capital Management and Afendis Capital Management, Cerealto acquired a majority stake in US-based Fresca Foods in November, the producer of snack bars and breakfast cereals.
Cerealis has also expanded in pasta. In September 2024, it took full control of Czech Republic-based Europasta for an undisclosed amount.
