Penta Investments, the 100% owner of Iglokrak, and Ipopema FIZ, the owner of Iglotex, entered into a merger agreement between the two companies. According to the agreement, Iglotex and Iglokrak will merge to create the largest distributor and one of the biggest frozen food manufacturers in Poland.
The main goal of the proposed holding is to consolidate the frozen food and foodservice delivery markets in Poland. The antimonopoly office is expected to issue its ruling by the end of the year.
Iglotex is the largest regional frozen food and ice cream distributor, as well as one of the largest foodservice distributors in Poland, with a very strong position in Northern Poland. It serves 19,000 retail and HoReCa POS and controls around 30,000 freezers. It is also one of the largest frozen food producers in Poland. Its headquarters are located in Skórcz, 70 km South of Gdańsk. In 2009, the company reported approximately PLN 400 million in revenues.
Iglokrak is the leading regional frozen food and ice cream distributor and producer in Poland, with a top position in distribution in Southern Poland. Iglokrak Group’s revenues in 2009 were approximately PLN 330 million.
“Our goal is to increase the group sales to PLN 1.5 billion in 5 years’ time. Penta is committed to support this investment for at least 5 years. The merger creates a rare opportunity for the management team to play a pivotal role in market consolidation and to drive changes in the sector dynamics,” Rafal Sosna, Investment Director of Penta said.
“We are reviewing a growing number of smaller bolt-on acquisitions. We see a growing interest from smaller, regional companies to become a part of our group. There is a huge potential in market consolidation, we want to provide our services on a nationwide scale,” said Tadeusz Wlodarczyk, President of Iglotex.
The merger will create the biggest distributor of frozen food and one of the largest players on the foodservice supply market in Poland. Currently, both markets are very fragmented, with more than 400 operators on each. The merged entity will primarily remain a distributor of third-party branded frozen food and foodservice products and will continue to closely co-operate with all branded producers of frozen food and foodservice products in Poland.
Penta and Ipopema FIZ will each hold a 50% stake in the holding. Both parties have agreed that the company will be listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange within the next 5 years.
About Iglotex
- The company distributes its own, as well as third-party products to retail and HoReCa channels. There are 2 production companies within the Group: Iglotex (producing frozen pizza, French toasts, flour and potato-based culinary products) and Grudziądz (producing frozen fruit and vegetables).
- Iglotex offers specialised cold storage warehousing and logistic services to external companies.
- The company has approximately 1,300 employees.
About Iglokrak
- Iglokrak is the leading regional frozen food and ice cream distributor and producer in Poland, with a top position in distribution in Southern Poland.
- The company consists of 7 distribution and 2 production units.
- It services 14,000 outlets and around 25,000 freezers in retail POS
- Iglokrak also has a strong production base for frozen food, including Fritar (frozen fries and vegetables) and Lewil (frozen, pastry-based ready-to-eat meals).
- Fritar has been expanded in 2009 with a EUR 10 million investment program. Fritar is now one of the most modern frozen food production facilities in Europe, with substantially increased production capacity.