Marel agrees to acquire TREIF, a German food cutting technology provider - Seite 2

The acquisition will be financed through Marel’s strong balance sheet, existing credit facilities and available treasury shares that Mr. Uwe Reifenhäuser, current owner and CEO, will hold with a lock-up period of 18 months. Pro forma leverage following completion of the acquisition is estimated to be 1.2xnet debt/EBITDA, compared to 0.6x at the end of 2Q 2020 and the targeted capital structure of 2-3x net debt/EBITDA. The acquisition is fully in line with Marel´s previously announced 2017-2026 growth strategy, of 12% average annual increase in revenues through a balanced mix of organic and acquired growth.

Árni Oddur Thordarson, CEO of Marel, commented:
"We are pleased to announce the agreement to acquire German processing equipment provider TREIF, a true hidden champion in our industry. With this transaction, two technological leaders with a shared passion for innovation and a vision to transform the way food is processed, join forces.

We have followed TREIF for years and been impressed by their cutting-edge technology, talented team and success in customer engagement, ranging from small shops to leading blue chip international food companies. Together, we are better positioned to meet customer needs in terms of automation, flexibility and time to market for consumer-ready products. TREIF’s leading cutting technology is highly complementary to Marel’s existing product portfolio. TREIF’s largest business segments today are within meat and baked goods, and we believe their technical capabilities can be cascaded to Marel’s poultry and fish segments and accelerate our innovation roadmap. TREIF’s installed base is substantial and by leveraging Marel’s digital platform and global reach with local teams in all key regions, we believe that we can drive further growth and aftermarket potential.

The acquisition of TREIF is in line with our 2017-2026 growth strategy. There are ample consolidation opportunities in our industry, and Marel has the commitment and capital structure to pursue opportunities that support our ambitious growth target of reaching EUR 3 billion in revenues by 2026."

Uwe Reifenhäuser, CEO of TREIF, commented:
"I am confident that we have found a great home for TREIF’s legacy and secured the long-term success of our leading technology, our customers and our committed employees. My father founded TREIF more than 70 years ago with the vision to offer the best possible cutting technology in the meat segment, later expanding into dairy, baked goods and other food segments in need of precise cutting technology. Our passion has always been to deliver innovative, reliable solutions with a strong value proposition. As a result we have one of the largest food cutting product portfolio and a loyal customer base across both the retail and processing industry.