Nomad Holdings Limited (LHL) has appointed Stéfan Descheemaeker as its chief executive officer effective upon closing of its recently-announced acquisition of Iglo Foods Holdings Limited, which is expected to occur in the second quarter of 2015. He will also serve as ceo of the Feltman, England-headquartered Iglo Group, replacing Elio Leoni Sceti.
Working closely with LHL founders Martin E. Franklin and Noam Gottesman, Descheemaeker “will provide the strategic direction and day-to-day leadership necessary to achieve Nomad’s vision of building a portfolio of best-in-class consumer food companies,” according to a press release issued by the Tortola British Virgin Islands-headquartered acquisitions firm.
Descheemaeker recently served as chief financial officer at the Brussels, Belgium-headquartered Delhaize Group, a €20 billion international food retailer, before becoming ceo of its European division. Earlier, as head of strategy and external growth at Interbrew, he was responsible for managing M&A and strategy, which culminated in the merger of Interbrew and AmBev in 2004 to create the world’s largest brewer.
“I could not be more excited to join Nomad at the onset of its growth story,” commented Descheemaeker. “The initial investment in the Iglo Group creates a solid foundation for us in the consumer foods space. Iglo’s brands evoke a strong sense of nostalgia for me, and I am personally looking forward to working with the talented teams to promote growth and innovation in the frozen foods category.”
About Iglo Group
The Iglo Group is a leading frozen food company whose core Iglo, Birds Eye and Findus products have been sold in Europe for over half a century. The UK, Italy, Germany and Austria are its largest markets, representing approximately 85% of turnover.
The company’s range runs the gamut from quick frozen vegetables to protein-based ready meals and side dishes. It pioneered the launch of the fish fingers in 1955, and since then has broadened its line with natural fish and seafood as well as many types of battered and breaded fish. Innovative oven ready recipes include Schlemmer Filet (Gourmet Fish Filets) and more recently the award-winning Bake-to-Perfection (BTP) range in their convenient straight-to-the-oven bags.
Nomad Holdings purchased Iglo last month from the private equity firm Permira for EUR 2.6 billion (£1.9 billion). The price paid was said to be 8.5 times the company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Not part of the transaction is the Birds Eye brand in the United States, which is a unit of Parsippany, New Jersey, USA-headquartered Pinnacle Foods.
Permira, which acquired Birds Eye and Iglo from Unilever in 2006 for EUR 1.7 billion, tried to sell the company in 2012 without success after rejecting offers that came in below the asking price. The deal with Nomad reportedly leaves Permira with 9% ownership of the company.
