By Business & Finance 
Owen Killian, CEO, Aryzta
The Irish-Swiss food group, which owns Cuisine de France, has significantly increased its presence in the French market through the acquisition of the frozen food specialist.
Aryzta originally announced that it was to acquire the stake earlier this year with a €446.6m investment.
The deal is being funded largely from Aryzta’s sale of its stake in Origin Enterprises for €400m and its Carroll Cuisine unit for €40m and the terms of the deal also allow it to acquire the remaining 51% of Picard in three to five years.
Picard specialises in the sale of premium frozen foods and has delivered consistent revenue, EBITDA and market share growth over the past 40 years.
Aryzta is one of the largest frozen bakery companies in the world and recently the company announced a growth in revenue for Q3.
Owen Killian, chief executive officer of Aryzta, said the investment in Picard was “consistent with Aryzta’s strategy of consumer relevancy through diversifying markets and channel positioning.
Picard will be separately managed and funded with debt non-recourse to Aryzta, while Aryzta will have two seats on the Picard board.
