News Dairy
Belgian Ysco becomes part of Gelato d'Italia
Subsidiary Ysco of Milcobel may definitively be taken over by private equity firm Davidson Kempner. This has been decided by the competition authorities. The investment fund will integrate Ysco with Gelato d'Italia, acquired in 2022.
Davidson Kempner manages companies with a total value of around $37 billion. These companies are active in various sectors. For the ice cream activities, the fund has an ice cream investment platform named Glacier. Glacier's ambition is to become a global player in ice cream. Company Gelato d'Italia currently has two of its own factories in Italy. These will be joined by the two from Ysco, and possibly more factories at a later stage.
The acquisition price of Ysco is not (yet) disclosed. With the soon-to-be four factories of Gelato d'Italia, an annual revenue of around $600 million (and more later) is targeted. This will be achieved as a private-label producer, with the unique ability to quickly introduce new concepts (for new ice creams) to the market. Ysco can produce approximately 200 million liters of ice cream annually, while the capacity of the existing Gelato d'Italia factories has not been disclosed. Davidson Kempner acquired the company in 2022 for €20 million from fellow investor IDeA Taste of Italy.
It seems likely that Ysco will continue to source dairy from Milcobel under the wings of Gelato d'Italia, if only because one of the two factories is located on Milcobel's premises in Langemark, although this has not been confirmed. For Milcobel, the decision of the competition authorities is important as it will now receive the proceeds from the sale. The cooperative has promised that loyal members will benefit from these proceeds.
