Kraft Heinz may receive the binding offers for the Italian baby food producer by the end of May, Il Sole 24 Ore reported.
Plasmon, an Italian producer of baby food that belongs to Nasdaq-listed giant Kraft Heinz, could attract the binding offers of German pan European private equity Aurelius and Milan-listed trade buyer Newlat Food, a company of the Mastrolia Family, by the end of May 2025, Il Sole 24 Ore reported.
The Italian paper said that Houlihan Lokey is acting as sale advisor. In 2019, Kraft Heinz tried to sell Plasmon for more than 700 million euros and other non-core assets after having announced write offs worth 15.4 billion US Dollars of its main brands (see here a previous post by BeBeez).
Cesare Scotti founded Plasmon (fka Sindacato Italiano Plasmon) in 1902 for producing and selling a protein concentrate for the infants’ nutritional needs. The company later started to focus on the manufacturing of biscuits and baby food with essential nutrients such as calcium, B vitamins and iron.
Plasmon has reported sales of 200 million (mainly in Italy) with an ebitda in the region of 17 million. In 2023, Kraft Heinz Italia generated a turnover of 325.5 million, an ebitda of minus 4.1 million, net cash of 7 million, and equity of 169.8 million (sign up for free for a Leanus report).
In 2015, Newlat Food acquired Plasmon’s plant in Ozzano Taro (Parma) and launched an IPO on Milan Market in 2019. The company was born in 2004 and since then grew through acquisitions of consolidated Italian assets and brands. Newlat core business is in the production of pasta, dairy food, bakery, and special products. The firm owns proprietary brands and carries on third-parties manufacturing for Polenghi, Optimus, Giglio, Matese, and Pezzullo. In 2023, it posted a turnover of 793.3 million, with net cash of 312.4 million (sign up for free for a Leanus report).
Aurelius is a London-based German financial investor that in 2024 acquired the savoury division of Belgium food company What’s Cooking. In 2021, the firm opened a bureau in Milan that Ludovico Denza heads (see here a previous post by BeBeez) and appointed Massimo Vendramini as managing director and head of southern Europe (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Aurelius also puchased Dayco Propulsion Solutions, an US industrial company that has a relevant presence in Italy (press release).
