Canada’s Sofina Foods buying Eight Fifty Food Group

Canadian meat and poultry producer Sofina Foods has reached an agreement to acquire Eight Fifty Food Group, a European pork and seafood company.

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(Felmeeeh | Bigstock.com)
(Felmeeeh | Bigstock.com)

Canadian meat and poultry producer Sofina Foods has reached an agreement to acquire Eight Fifty Food Group, a European pork and seafood company.

Eight Fifty is presently owned by private equity firm CapVest Partners, which acquired U.K. pork processor Karro Food Group in 2017 and Young’s Seafood in 2019. CapVest later consolidated those two enteties with five other protein businesses from across Europe to form Eight Fifty Food Group.

Terms of Sofina Foods’ agreement to acquire Eight Fifty were not disclosed, and the transaction is subject to approval from regulatory authorities.

Sofina Foods is one of Canada’s largest food producers as it processes primary and further processed protein products for both retail and foodservice customers. According to the WATTPoultry.com Top Companies Database, Sofina’s poultry-related brands are Cuddy Food Products (chicken and turkey deli meat), Lilydale (full range of chicken and turkey products), and Janes Family Foods (further processed chicken and fish). Other brands offered by Sofina Foods include Mastro, San Diniele, Fletcher’s, Vienna and Zamzam.

Headquartered in Markham, Ontario, Sofina Foods currently operates 21 different sites and employs approximately 5,000 people.

With the acquisition of Eight Fifty, Sofina Foods will more than double in size, both in terms of plants and employees.

According to a press release, Eight Fifty employs around 8,300 people across 23 manufacturing sites. The pork division is one of the largest processors and suppliers of products across the U.K. and Ireland, while the seafood division is the largest provider of chilled and frozen seafood products across the U.K. and is a major player in the German and French markets.

“As a leading Canadian multi-protein specialist, this acquisition allows Sofina Foods to continue on our path of ambitious expansion,” Michael Latifi, founder and executive chairman of Sofina Foods, said in the press release. “Sofina Foods is one of Canada’s largest food producers and we have created a solid global foundation for continued growth. With a history of excellence in food production and processing spanning over 25 years, the strong brands of Eight Fifty Food Group align perfectly with our prominent brands and our shared future vision.”

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