French and Mexican dairy groups Lactalis and Grupo Lala SAB de CV reached an agreement to end litigation in Latin America, allowing Lactalis to conclude the acquisition of Brazilian dairy producer Itambé Alimentos SA, Lactalis CEO for Latin America Patrick Sauvageot said on Wednesday.
In an interview with Reuters, Sauvageot said Lactalis and Lala ended litigation in Brazil regarding the Itambé acquisition and in Mexico regarding the use of certain brands.
Lactalis concluded the acquisition of Itambé on Wednesday and will now process 2.3 billion litres (607 million gallons) of milk a year in Brazil.
Arbitration
Lactalis expects its revenue in the country to reach R$8 billion ($2.13 billion). The conclusion of the deal had been pending the result of arbitration at the Brazil-Canada Chamber of Commerce that began around a year ago.
Lactalis, global owner of brands such as Parmalat, Galbani and Président, agreed to pay around $600 million to acquire Itambé in December 2017, less than six months after Lala acquired Vigor, which owned 50% of Itambé, in August 2017.
When it bought the company, Lala valued Vigor at $1.8 billion.
Before Itambé, Lactalis had already acquired Brazilian cheese producer Balkis and some dairy units owned by BRF SA. .
