New Princes Group, formerly known as Newlat, has agreed to buy Kraft Heinz’s entire Italian baby food and nutrition business for €120m.
Formed by Italian tinned and dried food giant Newlat’s £700m takeover of Princes in summer 2024, New Princes’ latest acquisition will give it ownership of flagship brand Plasmon, alongside Nipiol, BiAlgut, Aproten and Dieterba, as well as a factory employing 300 staff.
The transaction will be an “important strategic milestone” for New Princes, the company said, completing a move into baby food started in 2015 with its purchase of Kraft Heinz’s Italian baby formula factory.
The deal comes after New Princes revealed in May that it was considering floating a “substantial” portion of the business on the London Stock Exchange following the “transformational” acquisition of Liverpool-headquartered Princes.
“This acquisition is a moment of great pride and emotion,” said New Princes chairman Angela Mastrolia. “Bringing home brands like Plasmon, Nipiol, BiAglut, Aproten, and Dieterba fulfils a vision we have pursued for years — to create an Italian multinational company that gives new life to beloved national brands with deep roots in our country’s identity. With this milestone, we reaffirm our commitment to Italy and to the excellence of its food industry.”
Willem Brandt, president ofEurope and Pacific Developed Markets for Kraft Heinz, added: “This marks an important milestone in driving our strategy across Europe and the Pacific, enabling us to fuel investment and growth in our core areas, and enhance focus on our Accelerate platforms.
“It’s a great example of how we’re intentionally and proactively managing our portfolio to accelerate organic growth and drive sustainable, long-term value.”
New Princes Group has defined two primary business units: a €350m milk and dairy division, and a €2.45bn food and drinks division. New Princes anticipated the latter would reach €3bn in revenue by the end of 2025.
Part of this growth will come from the firm’s May 2025 deal to buy Diageo’s Italian operations, including a 350-worker factory specialising in RTD alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
New Princes said any IPO may provide the opportunity to drive growth in the food and drinks business, while adding further financial resources to accelerate its external growth strategy, but stressed that no decisions had yet been made.
New Princes counts the Princes tinned fish brand, Napolina, Naked and MugShot brands among its portfolio.
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