Jam and jelly manufacturer Chivers Ireland has been acquired by Premier Foods, the UK company from which it separated in a management buyout eight years ago.
Premier Foods has purchased Chivers Ireland for an undisclosed sum and will combine it with the existing Premier Foods Ireland operation, which was formed last August following Premier's acquisition of Campbell's Soups Ireland.
The merged Chivers Ireland and Campbell's Soups Ireland businesses will have an estimated turnover of some €70 million.
Liam O'Rourke, who is managing director of Chivers Ireland and led the management buyout in 1999, will be managing director of Premier Foods Ireland.
The company said it saw strong growth potential behind core brands such as Erin, McDonnell's, Chivers, Ambrosia, Birds, Lloyd Grossman and Goodall's.
Mr O'Rourke said there had been a number of buyers interested in the Chivers business, which has a turnover of €38 million. But he said that Premier Foods had been the logical choice, as Chivers Ireland distributes Premier Foods products in the Republic and the company already had a presence in the State with Campbell's. Yesterday Premier Foods said it planned to close two factories in the UK, affecting some 450 employees.
Mr O'Rourke said he would be reviewing how best to integrate the Chivers and Campbell's businesses and would keep employees updated on any proposed changes.
Chivers employs 106 people between its Coolock factory and sales force, while the existing Premier Foods Ireland operation employs 165 people between its head office in Dublin and factory in Thurles, Co Tipperary.
Premier Foods Ireland's main brand is Erin, under which it sells a range of soups, sauces, casseroles and gravy mixes, while Chivers is the Republic's leading manufacturer of jam.
In the UK, Premier Foods manufactures and distributes convenience foods, meat-free products, sauces, spreads and desserts. The group is valued at around £1.5 billion (€2.3 billion).
Welcoming the deal as a "homecoming", Mr O'Rourke said it was a significant investment in the Republic and a vote of confidence in the strength of the Irish food sector by one of the UK's most acquisitive food businesses.
Both businesses have developed significantly since the buyout, he added, citing Chivers' acquisition of Goodall's in 2002.
