Italpizza is launching a new “strategic” framework to drive growth as founder and president Cristian Pederzini takes full control of the business.
The Modena-headquartered company, which manufactures its own brand of pizza and also supplies private label, is seeking to foster further international expansion in a market “dominated by foreign multinationals”.
That is the objective laid down by Pederzini in a company statement yesterday (25 September). He has acquired the remaining 24.5% in Italpizza held by a “minority shareholder”.
In a separate post on LinkedIn, Italpizza announced: “This inaugurates a new long-term strategic and management framework aimed at consolidating the company's growth path, with an increasingly cohesive, dynamic and effective governance."
“What we have opened is a new, increasingly ambitious phase in the evolutionary path of the Italpizza Group, " Pederzini said in this statement.
Italpizza was once fully owned by the UK own-label convenience food group Bakkavor, which sold its interest in stages over 2014 and 2015 to holding company Dreamfood. The purchaser is an investment firm owned by Pederzini.
According to Italian media, minority shareholders were also invested in Dreamfood but last year Pederzini reportedly upped his stake to 75.5%.
Yesterday’s statement from Italpizza read: “Pederzini acquired the remaining 24.5% of the parent company of Italpizza from the remaining external minority shareholder in the shareholder structure.
“With this transaction, which completes a broader strategic transaction, the shareholder structure returns to fully Italian ownership.”
Italpizza was set up in 1991 and produces frozen and chilled branded pizza.
When the company announced last year that it had received €58m ($67.6m today) in bank financing to expand three of its facilities in Italy, annual turnover was put at €430m, with 60% generated from overseas in 58 markets.
Just Food has asked Italpizza for an update on its sales revenues and to clarify the new markets the business plans to enter.
Pederzini added in the statement: “We are preparing with enthusiasm and determination to face new international markets, with the strength of an increasingly solid industrial group.
“In a global market dominated by foreign multinationals, we have successfully positioned our branded product: in Italy, particularly in perhaps the most qualitatively demanding market, we have quickly earned the title of brand leader in the category.
"Now, with increasingly advanced skills and a clear and structured long-term vision, we are preparing to achieve the same result abroad as well.”
