Lamb Weston Holdings to acquire remaining interest in Lamb-Weston/Meijer

October 28, 2022

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. announces it has entered into an agreement to purchase the remaining equity interests in its European joint venture with Meijer Frozen Foods B.V.

Upon completion of the transaction, Lamb Weston will own 100 percent of Lamb-Weston/Meijer v.o.f. (“Lamb-Weston/Meijer”), formerly operated as a 50/50 joint venture between a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lamb Weston and Meijer Frozen Foods. Lamb Weston will pay a transaction consideration of 700 million euro, comprised of 525 million euro in cash and 175 million euro of Lamb Weston’s common stock. Lamb Weston Holdings anticipates closing the transaction in the second half of fiscal 2023, subject to regulatory approvals.

Proud market leader

CEO Kees Meijer states Meijer Frozen Foods is proud of the business they have built together, to create a market leader in Europe. ‘We remain confident in the long-term outlook for Lamb Weston and the global frozen potato category. By holding an investment in common stock of Lamb Weston after the transaction closes, we sustain our strong belief in a bright future for the business.’

Strengthen manufacturing footprint

‘We are grateful to Meijer Frozen Foods for their longstanding partnership,’ said President and CEO of Lamb Weston Tom Werner. ‘The joint venture has served as a strong platform to drive growth in Europe and the Middle East, as well as to support our global customer base across our key international markets. This transaction firmly aligns with Lamb Weston’s long-term capital allocation and acquisition framework, and we believe it will strengthen our manufacturing footprint by leveraging a truly global supply chain to better serve our customers and position us to take advantage of growth opportunities in Europe, the Middle East and Africa’, he adds.

Additional 910,000 metric tonnes of frozen product

With approximately 954 million euro in net sales in fiscal 2022 (including 114 million euro of net sales from its former joint venture in Russia), Lamb-Weston/Meijer is one of the leading suppliers of frozen potato products in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The transaction will give the company ownership of an additional five manufacturing facilities worldwide, including four facilities in the Netherlands and one in the United Kingdom, as well as a sixth manufacturing facility through a 75 percent interest in a joint venture in Austria. These facilities produce nearly two billion pounds (910,000 metric tonnes) of finished frozen products annually. The former joint venture’s approximately 1,500 employees will become employees of Lamb Weston upon completion of the transaction.

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