French food businesses Cofigeo and Arterris have made a takeover offer for the ready meals business of the embattled local food holdings group Financiere Turenne Lafayette.
FTL, which has been offloading assets since an audit revealed falsification of the group’s accounts, said the “firm” bid represented “the culmination of a competitive process” for the division.
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“The terms of the transfer will be defined in the coming days,” FTL said in a statement yesterday (3 June). “The joint offer by Cofigeo and Arterris concerns the acquisition of William Saurin and the acquisition of all the subsidiaries … and their employees. It is based on a significant investment plan and a relevant industrial and categorical project.”
Cofigeo’s portfolio includes the Raynal and Roquelaure, Zapetti and Liberty & Rio brands. The company also manufactures products under licence for Weight Watchers. In 2016, Cofigeo generated a turnover of EUR160m (US$180m).
Agricultural cooperative Arterris has a range of brands including Cabris goat dairy products and Ovis sheep meat. Last year, the company made a turnover of EUR760m.
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By GlobalDataFTL received emergency financial aid of close to EUR70m from several banks and the French state at the start of the year. In April, FTL accepted a takeover offer for its charcuterie business from local pork giant Cooperl. Last month, French firm Pastacorp said it had tabled a bid for FTL’s fresh pasta business.
A spokesperson for FTL said the Paris commercial court will rule on the Pastacorp and Cooperl offers on 13 and 15 June respectively.
