PITTSBURGH & CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Kraft Heinz Company (Nasdaq: KHC) (“Kraft Heinz”) announced today that it has reached an agreement to purchase Assan Foods from privately held Turkish conglomerate Kibar Holding in a deal that values the enterprise at approximately $100 million. Assan Foods is a rapidly growing sauces-focused business with local manufacturing facilities in Balikesir and Izmir that has been a certified production partner for Kraft Heinz since 2019 and offers Kraft Heinz the opportunity to build its retail and foodservice business across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
“This is a great opportunity to accelerate our international growth strategy centered on Taste Elevation,” said Rafael Oliveira, International Zone President at Kraft Heinz. “We believe Assan Foods is a high-performance organization that brings best-in-class local innovation and production of sauces and tomato products, as well as a significant distribution network in the fast-growing foodservice channel, enabling us to further build our scale and agility by expanding the Heinz brand in Turkey, as well as our International Taste Elevation platform more broadly.”
Headquartered in Istanbul, Assan Foods was established in Balikesir in 1998 as a Kibar Holding investment in the food sector and evolved into one of the top producers in the region. Assan Foods manufactures and sells a wide range of products including tomato paste, ketchup, mayonnaise, and pasta and meat sauces that appeal to a variety of international cuisines and are sold under brands such as Colorado, Kingtom, and Oba, as well as private label. With approximately 400 employees, Assan Foods serves the domestic market and exports to around 50 countries on four continents.
The deal is subject to customary closing conditions including merger control approval, and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2021.
ABOUT THE KRAFT HEINZ COMPANY
We are driving transformation at The Kraft Heinz Company (Nasdaq: KHC), inspired by our Purpose, Let’s Make Life Delicious. Consumers are at the center of everything we do. With 2020 net sales of approximately $26 billion, we are committed to growing our iconic and emerging food and beverage brands on a global scale. We leverage our scale and agility to unleash the full power of Kraft Heinz across a portfolio of six consumer-driven product platforms. As global citizens, we’re dedicated to making a sustainable, ethical impact while helping feed the world in healthy, responsible ways. Learn more about our journey by visiting www.kraftheinzcompany.com or following us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains a number of forward-looking statements. Words such as “focus,” “believe,” “offer,” “accelerate,” “bring,” “expect,” “will,” “enable,” “build,” “intend,” “plan,” “grow,” and variations of such words and similar future or conditional expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the stock and assets included in the proposed purchase, that the purchase is subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory clearances, the anticipated number of affected employees, the timing of closing, expected benefits of the proposed purchase, impacts of the proposed purchase on Kraft Heinz’s business, financial results, opportunities, and future plans, and other statements that are not historical facts, each of which is based on Kraft Heinz’s current beliefs, expectations, estimates, and projections. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and beyond Kraft Heinz’s control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Those factors include, but are not limited to, the timing of or failure to obtain necessary regulatory approvals or to satisfy any of the other conditions to the purchase, Kraft Heinz’s ability to achieve intended benefits of the purchase, the expected costs of the transaction, the success of business transitions, and the risk factors set forth in Kraft Heinz’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Kraft Heinz’s most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. Kraft Heinz disclaims and does not undertake any obligation to update, revise, or withdraw any forward-looking statement in this press release, except as required by applicable law or regulation.
