Private equity group CapVest Partners has agreed to sell Eight Fifty Food Group, the owner of Irish meat companies Carroll's Cuisine and M&M Walshe, to Canadian group Sofina Foods for an undisclosed sum. Instead, the UK-Irish group will now be part of a global-scale protein-focused food conglomerate with approximately €4bn in sales in Europe and North America. Eight Fifty Food Group was formed two years later when Karro merged with Young's, the UK's leading specialist seafood brand. Sofina's founder and owner Michael Latifi is a self-made billionaire who emigrated from Iran and started the company by acquiring a small meat company with 60 employees in 1995. Another CapVest company that has been growing through acquisition, Valeo Foods, is also up for sale and reportedly attracting interest from ex-Premier Foods CEO Gavin Darby with backing from private equity group Cinven.

Source: Irish Independent March 29, 2021 17:51 UTC