UK-based Nomad Foods has agreed to acquire Fortenova Group’s Frozen Food Business Group (FFBG) for a $723m (€615m) aggregate consideration on a debt-free, cash-free basis.

The deal for the divestment of the frozen food business covers Ledo Plus, Ledo Citluk, Frikom and several smaller affiliated companies.

FFBG operates in Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and several other countries in south-eastern Europe, which are new to Nomad.

Ledo and Frikom offer a broad range of frozen food products, including fish, fruits, vegetables, ready meals, pastry and ice cream in these markets.

Nomad Foods CEO Stéfan Descheemaeker said: “The acquisition of FFBG reinforces Nomad’s European frozen food leadership while strategically expanding our portfolio into attractive new markets and creating an exciting new category adjacency in ice cream.

“Like Birds Eye, Findus and iglo, Ledo and Frikom are institutions in their respective markets with strong consumer awareness and #1 market share. Similar to Nomad, FFBG is singularly focused on frozen food, a fantastic category that is aligned with consumer trends including convenience and sustainability.

“We plan to leverage our combined pan-European scale, commercial expertise and passion for frozen food while harnessing the unique local characteristics and traditions of FFBG’s brands.”

The deal will mark Nomad Foods’ foray into Central and Eastern European markets, as well as the ice cream segment.

Nomad intends to fund the acquisition with cash on hand and debt.

Completion of the deal is subject to the approval of a majority of the depositary receipt holders of the ultimate parent of the seller, as well as other certain closing conditions, and the deal is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.

For this transaction, Morgan Stanley acted as financial adviser and Norton Rose Fulbright, Divjak Topic Bahtijarevic & Krka Law Firm and BDK Advokati are acting as legal advisers to Nomad Foods.

In another development, Taylor Farms has announced the acquisition of FreshPoint’s Toronto operations for an undisclosed sum.

The newly acquired fresh-cut vegetable operation will continue to serve current FreshPoint customers and facilitate further growth of Taylor Farms in Canada.