LDC seeks business opportunities outside France

LDC Group — the largest poultry company in Europe — is exploring opportunities to acquire businesses outside of its home country of France.

onephoto, Bigstockphoto.com
onephoto, Bigstockphoto.com

LDC Group — France’s leading poultry meat company — is said to be exploring opportunities to acquire businesses elsewhere in Europe. 

At the top of LDC Group’s seasonal wish list for acquisitions are family businesses in Poland, Hungary, and the United Kingdom (U.K.). 

These are countries where the group has recently acquired similar companies, reports Reuters

Currently, the firm is seeking potential takeover targets in other European states, particularly those bordering Hungary, said Philippe Gélin. He is currently LDC’s head of international operations. 

Without identifying particular candidates, Gélin said LDC is “in conversation with several potential partners.” Acquisition targets are likely to have annual sales of around EUR200 million (US$226 million), he added.

LDC: leadership succession, latest results

In the past month, Denis Lambert, chairman of the board of the LDC Group, has announced that Gélin will be his successor in the role.

This succession represents the first in a series of significant changes in the leadership of LDC Group. From March of next year, Lambert will step back as chairman, as Gélin takes over the operational management of the company.

According to the recently published half-year results for 2021-2022, the Group’s overall revenue was 10.6% higher year-on-year. For its international businesses — which covers Poland, Hungary, and Belgium — growth amounted to more than 19% over the same period.

Already in the 2020-2021 fiscal year, LDC reported it holds 40% of the fresh chicken market in France, and 50% for the deli sector. As further domestic expansion is likely to be challenging, and with its existing international operations already registering strong growth, LDC could see other European acquisitions as the best means to expand its overall business.

More on LDC Group

With annual slaughterings of more than 578 million birds, LDC is the largest poultry meat company in Europe, according to the WATT Top Poultry Companies database.

LDC Group has 86 production sites across Europe, and exports account for around 20% of overall sales.

At the end of October, LDC announced the latest in a series of acquisitions over recent years — its majority take-over of Capestone Organic Poultry of the U.K.

In May of 2021, LDC acquired all but one of the sites operated by the Ronsard Group in France from Eureden.

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