AUSTIN, MINN. — Hormel Foods Corp. has acquired Fontanini Italian Meats and Sausages, a branded food service business, from Capitol Wholesale Meats, Inc. for $425 million. Fontanini manufactures Italian meats and sausages as well as a variety of other premium meat products, including pizza toppings and meatballs.
"This is a strategic acquisition for our high-growth food service division,” said Jim Snee, president and chief executive officer of Hormel Foods. “We have delivered a strong track record of success in the food service industry with a growing portfolio of customers in the lodging, restaurant, health care and college and university sectors. The Fontanini brand is highly regarded, and the addition of these products to our portfolio will allow us to accelerate growth for both Hormel Foods food service and for Fontanini through expanded distribution and new customers."
Fontanini will report into Hormel’s Refrigerated Foods segment and will continue to operate out of its 188,000-square-foot facility in McCook, Ill.
"The Fontanini business perfectly complements our branded food service business," said Jeff Baker, group vice-president of food service at Hormel Foods. "We are excited about this new partnership and our ability to leverage key Hormel Foods resources such as R.&D., operations, supply chain and finance to grow this dynamic business. While we are focused on ensuring a seamless transition and continued stewardship of the Fontanini brand, we are also excited about leveraging their new state-of-the-art production facility, which has additional capacity to produce many Hormel Foods products."