Glanbia acquires California company as revenues fall

ISEQ listed food group Glanbia plc today announced the acquisition of a California based nutritional business Seltzer Companies Inc for €81.8m.

The business is being acquired on a debt free basis and will be funded through Glanbia's existing financing facilities.

The transaction is subject to approval by the US Federal Trade Commission and completion is expected in October 2006.

In 2005, Seltzer generated revenue of €41m, profit before tax of €5.0m and had gross assets of €13.2m at December 2005.

Meanwhile, Glanbia has reported a fall in revenue during the first half of this year.

In its financial results for the first six months of the year, the group said overall revenue was down €3.3m to just under €923m.

It said a downturn in performance in the food ingredients division, particularly the Irish operations, led to a drop in overall operating profit and margins.