Alpro has been bought by US dairy giant Dean Foods for £275m to boost its presence in the global soy market.

Dean chairman and chief executive Gregg Engles described the leading soy-based food and drink business as one of the "most strategic assets" his company could have acquired.

"We see significant opportunities to leverage the collective strengths of both businesses across a global soy platform to accelerate growth," Engles commented.

Alpro has five manufacturing plants in the UK, Belgium, France and the Netherlands and last year posted net sales of around £220m.