By Business & Finance 
Ornua this morning announced that it has sold a majority stake in its US specialty foods distribution business, DPI Specialty Foods, Inc., to Arbor Investments.
DPI is a specialty food distributor and provider of customised sales, marketing and logistics solutions to national, regional and independent retailers and food service operators across the US. Ornua will maintain a minority stake in the DPI business and DPI’s existing senior management will continue to lead the organisation and operate its eight distribution facilities.
The sale of DPI is part of Ornua’s strategy of reallocating capital and assets to support Ornua’s continuing investments in enhanced routes to market for Irish dairy products through its businesses across global markets including the US, UK, Germany, Middle East, Africa and China.
“The sale of a majority stake in DPI allows us reinvest the significant proceeds in our core business of building routes to market for Irish dairy products,” Kevin Lane, Ornua CEO said. “This year has seen our Group make a series of investments in Spain, the US, the UK, Germany and Nigeria, each delivering value for our member coops and dairy farmers. Arbor’s introduction to the business ensures that the hard work and achievement of the team at DPI can be further built upon in the years ahead.”
Ornua is an agri-food commercial co-operative which markets and sells dairy products on behalf of its members, Ireland’s dairy processors and the Irish dairy farmer. Ornua has annualised sales of over €2bn. Headquartered in Dublin, the business employs some 3,000 people globally.
