(News Bulletin 247) – The owner of the Loué ou Marie brands plans to acquire the number one tabbouleh maker Pierre Martinet. This announcement serves as an appetizer before the publication of LDC’s annual results this Wednesday evening.

LDC wants to strengthen its presence in the catering products segment. The poultry group announced Tuesday evening after the stock market that it had entered into exclusive negotiations with a view to acquiring the entire capital of the Pierre Martinet group, known for its slogan “the intractable caterer”.

The target is a prime one, since the Martinet group is one of the market leaders in catering salads, and number one in tabbouleh.

Founded in 1968, this family group produces and markets catering salads under the Pierre Martinet brand. It also has a seafood salad business with its La Belle Henriette brand, acquired in 2010, and charcuterie products and savory pastries with Maison Randy since 1997. And since 2017, the Pierre Martinet group has offered a range of ” plant”. This diversified offering enabled it to achieve a turnover of nearly 230 million euros in 2023.

The operation could be completed by the end of 2024, subject, warns LDC, “to agreement on the terms of the sale and the lifting of the usual suspensive conditions, in particular audits and the decision of the Competition Authority.

A relevant operation for TP ICAP Midcap

The owner of the Loué, Le Gaulois and Marie brands indicates with this acquisition that he wants to “strengthen his presence” in the catering department alongside his brand of Marie ready meals.

“To the extent that this acquisition would be carried out, it would fit perfectly into the 2026-2027 strategic roadmap, in which LDC presented its ambitions in terms of developing its brands, expanding its marketing networks and to strengthen its offer on catering salads”, develops the French group.

For its part, TP ICAP Midcap views this acquisition favorably. “We will wait for more figures before forming an opinion, but this operation seems relevant to us, given the strong reputation of the brand and its positioning on plants,” appreciates Florent Thy-thine, head of equity research at TP ICAP Midcap.

On the Paris Stock Exchange, LDC’s appetite is also well received. The title of the owner of the Marie, Le Gaulois and Loué brands rose by 1.4% to 149.5 euros this Wednesday around 3:00 p.m. The stock is moving close to its absolute highs, at 153 euros reached at the end of April.

This initiative shines the spotlight on the agri-food group which will publish its 2023-2024 annual results this Wednesday after the market. Florent Thy-thine expects “good annual results”, and the operation announced the day before confirms his buying opinion and his price target of 192 euros. Which shows a potential increase of 28% at current prices.

Structuring acquisitions

For the year 2023-2024, the group announced last month that it had exceeded the milestone of 6 billion euros in turnover to 6.2 billion euros, in accordance with its objective. And the rest of the accounts will be published this Wednesday evening. Current operating profit is expected to exceed 350 million euros compared to 300 million euros achieved in the previous financial year.

The group had raised its annual profitability target, after reporting half-year results above expectations, in November 2023.

The company which owns the Loué or Marie brands should also confirm its objectives set as part of its 2026-2027 strategic plan, namely to cross the milestone of 7 billion euros in turnover by this horizon. This ambition must be accompanied by an increase in profitability with a target of nearly 560 million euros in Ebitda over the 2026-2027 financial year.

Achieving these objectives must be fueled by major acquisitions. In 2022, LDC completed the acquisitions of Matines (and its business) and Ovoteam (with its industrial tools) in eggs. And at the end of 2023, the French poultry giant took over Indykpol, market leader for turkey in Poland, with a view to “enriching the range with fresh products, cold meats and processed products. made from turkey.

The targets favored by LDC’s management are companies with 100 to 500 million turnover, the company indicated in May 2022 to our colleagues at Zone Bourse.