IAWS has purchased Tullamore-based Carroll Meats Limited, a manufacturer and distributor of cooked meats and ready meals.

An IAWS spokesman described the Carroll purchase as a small bolt-on acquisition, but declined to disclose how much the company had expended on the deal.

IAWS did not report the acquisition to the Irish Stock Exchange as the amount paid for the transaction was not considered material.

Carroll Meats, which was established in the 1970s by Mr Séamus Carroll, reported pre-tax profits of €2.5 million on turnover of €24.7 million in the year ended August 31st, 2003.

The company, which sponsors the Offaly hurling and football teams, employs more than 80 people at its operations in Tullamore and Nenagh.

Mr Carroll and his wife Anna are the sole shareholders of the company while their son John is the general manager.

Last autumn, IAWS purchased the former Flextronics premises in Tullamore, an 85,000 sq ft site into which it plans to consolidate its two existing facilities in Tullamore.

Davy Stockbrokers said the move extended the scope of IAWS's offering to the in-store delicatessen and bakery channel.

"IAWS may well evolve pre-packed sandwich and bread roll offerings as part of the development of Carroll's business," the broker added.

Separately, the company has announced the appointment of Mr Liam Larkin as chief executive of its agribusiness division while Mr Tom Tynan becomes the new commercial director for agribusiness.

The division, which includes Gouldings, R&H Halls and the fish oil business, has a combined turnover of around €600 million.