Ingredients giant set to be sold for £3.3bn

Newly Weds Foods confirmed to Food Manufacture that a deal has been agreed upon with the private equity firm, a sale that Reuters reports is worth approximately $4bn (£3.3bn).

Founded in 1932, Newly Weds Foods is headquartered in Chicago, USA, but has a presence in Europe and the Asia Pacific region. It produces three core ranges of products: batters and breadcrumbs, seasonings and functional ingredients.

Newly Weds Foods owns three sites in the UK – its Ossett head office and additional manufacturing sites in Banbury and Corby – as well as a total of 29 in the US. The Ossett and Banbury sites possess R&D facilities and pilot plants in addition to the production capacity for creating batters, breadcrumbs and seasonings, while the Corby site is primarily focused on the manufacturing of panko, a breadcrumb style product traditionally used in Japanese cuisine.

Current Newly Weds Foods chief executive, Brian Johnson, will continue in his role once the prospective deal is completed. Johnson took on the role in June 2022, having previously served as the firm's chief financial officer since 2006.

Redwood Holdings is run by Allegis Group co-founders Jim Davis and Steve Bisciotti. Founded in 1983, Allegis Group is an international staffing and workforce management firm and Davis remains the chief executive to this day. It employs almost 20,000 people and earns revenues of approximately $14.5bn (£11.9bn).

Meanwhile, Bisciotti is the majority owner of the Baltimore Ravens, an NFL franchise located in the state of Maryland where Allegis Group is based.

Newly Weds Foods will continue to remain independent

A spokesperson for the ingredients maker told Food Manufacture: "Newly Weds Foods has executed an agreement to be acquired by Redwood Holdings, a family-owned holding company.​

"Redwood is fully aligned with our strategy and the culture of Newly Weds built by our late owner Charles Angell. Following the transaction, we will continue to operate as Newly Weds Foods, and remain an independent, privately-held and family-owned company as part of Redwood. We are excited about the future under our new ownership.​"

In other news, UK potato supplier Branston has announced that it is opening a new mash potato facility at its main site in Lincoln​​. Branston currently handles 350,000 tonnes of potatoes for fresh and prepared products but has not previously been involved in the production of mash.