Hiestand Holding shareholders have approved a plan to combine with IAWS to create the world's biggest maker of frozen baked goods.
Shareholders representing 91.3 per cent of votes at a meeting today were in favor of the merger, Lupfig, Switzerland-based Hiestand said today in an e-mailed statement. IAWS, which already has a 64 per cent stake in Hiestand, will own 83.3 per cent of the new baker, Aryzta, and Hiestand will have 8.7 per cent.
Dublin-based IAWS will get the Swiss company's Fricopan garlic baguettes and Hiestand croissants, which are winning market share from Europe's traditional bakeries.
The European and US frozen baked-goods markets are growing at 4 per cent a year, according to IAWS, faster than sales at old-fashioned bakeries. Frozen baked goods generate about €30 billion a year in sales globally. Aryzta aims to double per-share profit in five years, according to Owen Killian, IAWS' chief executive officer, who will head the company.
Owners of IAWS stock will receive one Aryzta share for every two IAWS shares held. Hiestand investors will get 36 Aryzta shares for each share held.
IAWS bought 22 per cent of Hiestand from founder Alfred Hiestand in 2003. The Irish baker has raised its stake to 64 per cent by purchasing Hiestand shares owned by Lion Capital, the leveraged buyout firm that owns Weetabix cereal.
The new company will be based in Switzerland and its shares will trade both in Zurich and Dublin.
Bloomberg