Investing and Global Finance News

Greencore Buying US Food Company Peacock

Still live by Pompeian painter around 70 AD.
Still life by Pompeian painter around 70 AD.

Patrick Coveney took over the Irish food company Greencore in March 2008. At that time the company did not even earn  one penny of revenue in the United States. The CEO saw his mandate as changing that, in a big way.

Coveney got going right away with several strategic acquisitions, organic growth, while constantly speaking about launching a business in the US to eventually be worth one billion dollars.

With Greencore’s announcement of the $746 million acquisition of Peacock Foods, based in Illinois, Coveney’s target seems utterly reachable. The deal is expected to gain approval before the end of the year.

This deal is certainly a big one for Greencore. It is by far their largest takeover to date. Their next biggest was a $113 million deal when it bought British sandwich maker Uniq in 2011.

In the revenue department, the change is certainly “transformational.” The company’s US revenue will expand by a factor of five when Peacock is integrated into the firm. The acquisition of Peacock will add 2 million square feet of manufacturing space, 1,150 new employees, and some important customers like Dole, Tyson and KraftHeinz.

The company’s US business now accounts for about 15 percent of total revenues. After the acquisition US revenues will be about 45 percent of Greencore’s overall business.

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