Premium Brands Acquires Another Ontario Meat Company

From: Food in Canada

Vancouver – Premium Brands Holdings Corporation has acquired another Ontario-based meat manufacturer.

In a press release, Premium Brands says Brampton, Ont.-based Skilcor Food Products is a leading manufacturer of cooked back ribs and other unique protein products. The company, which was established 50 years ago, has annual sales of approximately $27 million. On its website, Skilcor says it develops, produces and distributes value-added, portion-controlled, fully cooked meat products. It also distributes and is a broker for major national and private label brands.

The company operates out of a 34,000 sq.-ft. facility that was built in 2006. George Paleologou, Premium Brands’ president and CEO, says in the statement that the acquisition will help the company “strengthen” its presence in meat manufacturing and distribution. “It will not only expand our portfolio of products but will also give us specialized production capacity that will enable us to provide customers with premium quality differentiated protein solutions in the high growth ready-to-eat product category,” he says.

“In addition, Skilcor’s experienced and talented management team will further enhance the depth of our Protein Platform in central Canada.” The statement says the transaction will be funded through Premium Brands’ existing bank facilities and is expected to be immediately accretive to its annual earnings per share and free cash flow per share.