Norway's Orkla has entered into an agreement to acquire 74% of the shares in Polish pizza franchise chain, Da Grasso, for an undisclosed sum.
Da Grasso, which operates 193 outlets in the country, generated sales worth €53 million in 2021.
The company's turnover amounted to €13.6 million, while normalised EBITDA amounted to €2.5 million.
Thomas Ljungqvist, executive vice president and acting CEO of Orkla consumer and financial investments, said, "Da Grasso is a well-run business that has built an impressive position in the growing Polish pizza market. We are very pleased to partner with the founder and CEO of Da Grasso to continue developing the concept and expand the network.
"Through closer collaboration with our existing pizza platforms, we are confident that we will build stronger businesses on our way to becoming one of the leading pizza franchise companies in Europe."
Orkla has consolidated its position in the European pizza market through a series of transactions since 2018, with brands such as Kotipizza and New York Pizza in its portfolio.
The investment in Da Grasso will see Orkla expand its network of franchise pizza outlets to 860 in Finland, Benelux, Germany and Poland.
Da Grasso
Established in 1996, Da Grasso is headquartered in Łódź and has 51 employees.
It is owned by Karolina Rozwandowicz (95%) and the CEO Magdalena Piróg (5%).
Following the transaction, Rozwandowicz and Piróg will continue as shareholders in partnership with Orkla. Other minority shareholders will own the remaining shares.
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter, Orkla noted.
Orkla is a supplier of branded products and concept solutions to the consumer, catering and bakery markets in the Nordic, Baltic and selected markets in Central Europe and India.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest A-Brands news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
