Barilla snaps up Canada dry pasta firm Catelli for $130 million

Italy’s Barilla has finalized a deal to buy dry pasta firm Catelli from Spain’s Ebro Foods in a deal worth around 107 million euros ($130 million), the two groups said on Monday, February 1.

For the family-owned company this is the second acquisition in less than a month, after it announced a deal to purchase a majority stake in Britain’s Pasta Evangelists.

With the latest transaction, Barilla will get 3 brands of Catelli and a production plant in Montreal, increasing the Italian group’s exposure to North America.

“Given the synergies between our business strategies, commitments, and values, Catelli dry pasta is a natural fit for the expansion of our business,” Barilla chief executive Claudio Colzani said in a statement.

The world’s biggest pasta maker also said it planned to roll out 1-billion-euro investments in its home country between 2020 and 2024.

The money will fund several different projects including improvements of Barilla’s existing pasta production sites and acquisitions. Last year, the group finalized the purchase of a pasta plant in the northeast of Italy. – Rappler.com