Ebro Foods, S.A., formerly Ebro Puleva, is a Spanish food processing company.[2] Ebro Foods is the world's largest producer of rice[2] and the second biggest producer of pasta[3] (its Panzani brand is a market leader in France).[2] The company's head office is in Madrid.[4]
History
In 2005, Ebro Foods sold Catesa Foods for $37.9m. Catesa Foods specializes in tropical fruits, flowers, and ornamental plants on Tenerife Island.[5]
Ebro was previously the largest manufacturer of value-added dairy products in Spain, until it sold this business unit to Lactalis in March 2010 for €630 million.[6] It also was Spain's largest sugar producer prior to the divestment of that division to the British Sugar subsidiary of Associated British Foods in 2009.[7] Ebro Foods operates in 23 countries worldwide.
In December 2019, 55,000 pounds of rice from its brands, including Minute Rice and Mahatma Rice were donated to the Houston Food Bank.[8]
In June 2021, Ebro Foods announced the sale of the Panzani and Ferrero brands to the investment fund CVC Capital Partners for €550 million.[9]
International development
Ebro Foods entered the U.S. market in 2004 when it acquired Houston-based Riviana Foods, which purchased American Rice in 2011 and now produces brands such as Mahatma, Success, Minute Rice, Water Maid and several private labels.[10] In 2006, Ebro acquired New World Pasta, producer of Ronzoni, San Giorgio and other products, and which is also now under the Riviana corporate umbrella.[11] Riviana Foods, New World Pasta, and American Rice united under the Riviana Foods name in 2017 to become the largest manufacturer of rice and second-largest manufacturer of pasta in the U.S.[12]
Ebro Foods owns the Puleva Biotech subsidiary, which engages in the research and development of new functional food products.
It has a biofuel production joint venture with Abengoa
Riviana Foods
Riviana Foods Inc. is a subsidiary of Ebro Foods, S.A. When it merged with American Rice, Inc. and New World Pasta Co. in 2017, it became the largest manufacturer and marketer of rice products and second largest of pasta products in the United States. Its estimated sales revenue at the time was $1.5 billion.[14]
Riviana's brands include Minute Rice and Ronzoni pasta.
History
Early years
Riviana dates back to the 1911 founding of the Louisiana State Rice Milling Company, Inc., a consortium of thirty rice mills led by Frank Godchaux Sr. By 1931, the Louisiana State Rice Milling Company, Inc. introduced consumer-friendly packaging.[15]
Mergers and acquisitions
In 1965, Louisiana State Rice Milling Company merged with River Brand Rice Mills, Inc to form Riviana Foods Inc.
Riviana Foods rice brands and products
Carolina Rice
Carolina Rice, founded in 1927, is primarily sold in the northeast United States.[20] Carolina Rice offers many varieties of rice including white rice, parboiled rice, whole grain brown rice, organic rice, yellow rice, wild rice, basmati rice and jasmine rice. Most of Carolina Rice's US-grown rice is sourced from Arkansas, California, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, and Texas. Riviana Foods commercializes other rice varieties that are originally grown in Thailand (jasmine rice) and India (basmati rice).[21] It has no connection to the variety of rice called Carolina Gold.[22]
Mahatma Rice
Riviana Foods pasta brands and products
Ronzoni
Ronzoni was founded in 1918 as the Ronzoni Macaroni Company. By the 1970s, Ronzoni was the number one pasta in New York.[52] In 1990, Ronzoni was acquired by the Hershey Food Corporation.[53] Ronzoni pasta was then acquired by New World Pasta, which in turn was acquired by Ebro Foods S.A. in 2006. Ronzoni products include classic pasta and innovations like Turmeric pasta and SuperGreens pasta (vegetable pasta).[54]
On March 29, 2021, 8th Avenue Food & Provisions, a subsidiary of Post Holdings, announced that it was acquiring Rozoni from Ebro for $95 million. The acquisition was expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2021, pending regulatory approval.[55]
Financial activity
The company's shares are listed on the Bolsa de Madrid.
External links
References
- EBRO. Annual Report 2020 Ebro Foods, retrieved 12 April 2021^
- Thomas Mulier. AB Foods to Acquire Ebro Sugar Unit for EU385 Million Bloomberg, 15 December 2008, retrieved 2019-09-14^
- Ebro Foods to buy US, Canada's new world pasta for 362.5 mln usd