Kettle Chips owner Valeo Foods has sold off its Irish ambient foods division to a group of investors led by former divisional managing director Hilliard Lombard.
The carve-out will hand over control of brands including Jacob’s, Batchelors and Odlums to Lombard, who led the division from 2016 to 2019.
US investment bank Houlihan Lokey was appointed to lead a sales process for the business last year as part of Valeo’s strategic shift towards sweet treats.
Sales in the Irish business fell €32.8m to €301.8m (£259m) last year, while the group expanded 6.5% overall to hit €1.6bn.
Valeo was itself bought by private equity giant Bain Capital in 2021 for a reported €1.7bn. Since then, it has pursued a mission to become Europe’s “sweet treats champion” – an M&A-led strategy that has seen the Dublin-headquartered group pick up bakeries and manufacturers across Europe.
The strategy has seen Valeo take on a substantial debt burden, with €160.7m in finance costs alone in 2025.
Valeo said the Irish business’ new ownership would give it a “strong platform” for the future, with.a “clear ambition to support its continued development and growth”.
“Importantly, the transaction does not mark the end of the relationship,” it said in a statement.
“Valeo Foods Group and Valeo Foods Ireland intend to maintain a close commercial relationship following completion, including the continued distribution of Valeo Foods’ international brand portfolio in Ireland.”
Valeo’s Irish operation has more than 500 staff.
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