Hi °C | Lo °C ARYZTA is back on the acquisition trail with the €280m purchase of German baker Klemme.
The deal is "transformational" for the Irish-led company in Europe, and also restarts Aryzta's tradition of growing through acquisitions – that strategy had been on hold for the past couple of years.
It is the biggest deal Aryzta has been involved in since it shelled out nearly €400m for the half of Canadian firm Maidstone Bakeries it didn't own, back in 2010.
Aryzta has struggled in the past year, as it has dealt with a consumer market that is showing little sign of a turnaround, particularly in Europe.
Its most recent results, coming after chief executive Owen Killian had been mandated to seek greater organic growth, were good.
The company shares plunged, however, because Aryzta said future growth would be worse than expected, and dropped a long-held earnings-per-share target of 400c by next year.
By doing this deal, Mr Killian seems to have accepted that organic growth is a non-starter in Europe – at least for now – and if the company wants to increase its business, it needs to go back to buying.
The shares fell nearly 2pc in Zurich after the takeover was announced; indicating the market is not yet convinced this is a winning strategy.
The company is still doing well, but it seems the jury is still out on whether Mr Killian and his lieutenants can drive long term growth.
Irish Independent
