Lamb Weston has entered into an agreement to acquire Ready Meals, a frozen potato processor in Australia, for an undisclosed sum.
Ready Meals sells potato products under the Harvest Choice brand and operates frozen potato processing and storage facilities in Melbourne.
Lamb Weston said the Ready Meals operations will add approximately 70 million pounds of production capacity to its existing global manufacturing network.
Upon completion of the transaction, Lamb Weston will own and operate 18 processing facilities worldwide, and an additional eight facilities in conjunction with its joint venture partners. The closing of the transaction is “expected to be completed as soon as practicable”.
“The Ready Meals acquisition is the continuation of our strategic work to strengthen and expand our global capabilities,” said Tom Werner, Lamb Weston CEO.
The deal follows on from Lamb Weston’s acquisition earlier this year of Marvel Packers, another Melbourne-based frozen potato processor. The unit sells potato chips under the Farmers Best and Marvel Chips brands.
Last week, Lamb Weston completed the expansion of its operations in Hermiston, Oregon. The $250 million investment, announced in 2017, adds a new processing line to the existing facility, increasing the company’s processing capacity for making frozen French fries.
The Idaho-headquartered firm said the expansion will allow it to meet the growing global demand for French fries.
Source: FoodBev
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