“Pasta, yes, but Panzani”! The famous slogan of this iconic brand can be taken over by the investment fund CVC Capital Partners. It has just won the auction launched by the Spanish agribusiness group Ebro Foods wishing to sell this activity. The announcement of the exclusive negotiation between the two companies, made official Monday, July 26, figures the amount of the transaction at 550 million euros.
Ebro Foods has thus chosen to relinquish the Panzani brands in France as well as Ferrero and Zakia, present in the dry pasta, couscous, sauces and semolina department. This decision is part of a larger strategic movement. The Spanish group has already sold its dry pasta activities in the United States and Canada in 2020, and in June 2021 for the American brand Ronzoni. The listed company, which weighs 3.2 billion euros in turnover, says it wants to refocus on fresh pasta and rice, claiming the title of world number one in the marketing of this grass. She also made a point of emphasizing that she kept the brand of fresh pasta Lustucru selection and that of winged bull rice in France.
2020, year of pasta and rice reserves
The demise of Panzani comes at a crucial time. In 2020, the Covid-19 crisis prompted consumers to fill their cupboards with packages of rice and pasta to cope with episodes of confinement. As a result, in 2020, Ebro’s turnover jumped 15% and profit by 36% to 192 million euros. Conversely, the company is forecasting a more difficult 2021 year with soaring world prices for wheat and rice.
In its press release, the group affirms that the sale of Panzani will have no social impact and that its headquarters will remain in Lyon. This subsidiary employs 750 people for a turnover of 470 million euros. It is therefore a new change of hands for this company, leader of the French pasta market, created after the Second World War by Jean Panzani. His idea: to wrap the pasta in a cellophane bag to ensure transparency for the customer. For a while, it belonged to the Danone group before the yogurt specialist decided to part with all of its grocery brands, including Panzani. It was taken over by the investment fund PAI Partners in 1997 and then passed into the fold of the Spanish Ebro Foods in 2005.
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