Weetabix Food Company – owner of one of Britain’s leading cereal brands – has been acquired by US-based Post Holdings Inc., a consumer packaged goods holding company, for £1.4 billion (US$1.79bn).

 

The acquisition comes on the back of the growth in Weetabix’s UK market share for cereals and drinks, rising from 15.3 per cent to 16.4 per cent in the past year as consumers look for more nutritious, tasty and convenient breakfast choices.

 

Post Holdings, Inc., headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, boasts a broad food product portfolio, including ready-to-eat cereal, value-added egg products, protein shakes, bars and powders, peanut and other nut butters, and granola. Through its Post Consumer Brands business, Post Holdings is a leader in the North American ready-to-eat cereal category. The combination of Post and Weetabix is expected to boost international growth opportunities on both sides.

 

News of the acquisition was welcomed by Giles Turrell, CEO of Weetabix Food Company, who said: “Today’s deal is great news for the team at Weetabix and all those who love our brands. The past five years have seen us increase our branded sales at home and overseas. Post is a leader within its markets and shares our commitment to providing great tasting nutritious products for the whole family. I’m confident they will help us open doors for continued expansion.”

 

Alongside its namesake cereal, Weetabix Food Company also produces popular breakfast brands including Weetabix Minis, Alpen and Weetos.

 

In 2014, it launched a breakfast drinks business, Weetabix On The Go. This has grown rapidly, with sales of more than £15m (over US$19m) in 2016. As a standalone brand, it would now be in the top 20 breakfast brands in the UK, having grown 70 per cent in 2016.

 

Weetabix is headquartered in Burton Latimer (Northamptonshire) with an additional UK factory in Corby. It also has operations in North America, South Africa, Germany and Spain. Weetabix is majority owner of a joint venture in Kenya that serves the African market and Weetabix Food Company exports its brands to more than 90 countries around the world.

 

In recent years, Weetabix has seen strong growth in China, which is now its third-largest market after the UK/Ireland and North America. Post Holdings has agreed in principle to establish a joint venture with previous owners the Bright Food Group and Barings Private Equity Asia to manage the Chinese operations.

 

www.weetabixfoodcompany.co.uk