Panzani and Cerealis in exclusive talks to form €1bn food group

Panzani Group and Cerealis have entered exclusive negotiations to merge, creating an independent European food group with roughly €1 billion in annual revenues and an enterprise value of approximately €1.8 billion.

The combined business would employ nearly 1,800 people and unite two dry grocery manufacturers backed by Cerealis' founding families, the Belgian holding Sofina and CVC Capital Partners. For caterers, foodservice distributors and private-label buyers across Europe, the deal concentrates significant pasta, cereal and flour supply into a single decentralised group.

What does the combination look like on paper?

Panzani, headquartered in Lyon, generated €620 million in revenue in 2025 and operates in France, the Netherlands and Central Europe. Its portfolio focuses on pasta, couscous and sauces.

Cerealis, based in Porto, produced €400 million in revenue in the same year across Portugal, Spain, the Czech Republic and Poland. Its brands span pasta, breakfast cereals, cereal bars, biscuits and flour.

Together the two businesses cover seven national markets with limited operational overlap, which the companies describe as complementary portfolios, geographical footprints and manufacturing capabilities. In revenue terms, Panzani contributes just over 60% of the combined top line — €620 million against Cerealis' €400 million.

The enlarged group intends to expand beyond its existing categories and use each company's established market positions to push brands into additional European markets. Management also plans continued investment in manufacturing assets, brands and innovation, which the companies say will support growth and strengthen the resilience of Europe's food supply chain.

Who runs the combined group?

The proposed structure preserves operating autonomy through a decentralised model. Both companies keep their headquarters and their CEOs.

• Panzani remains a French company in Lyon, with CEO Albert Mathieu continuing to lead the business and taking on responsibility for the combined group's Central European operations.
• Cerealis stays headquartered in Porto under CEO Paula Meireles, who would oversee the Iberian and international private-label business.
• Pedro Moreira da Silva, Cerealis' executive vice-chairman, would provide overall leadership for the combined group.

Mathieu said the deal would create a "more diversified, stronger and more resilient" pan-European food business while preserving Panzani's French roots, operations, brands and relationships with its agricultural durum wheat partners — a point of continuity for the durum wheat supply chain in southern France.

Moreira da Silva framed the transaction as building on the companies' "highly complementary product ranges, technologies and expertise".

"Panzani and Cerealis share the same entrepreneurial culture, a long-term commitment to their brands and markets, and a common ambition for growth," he said.

How will ownership be structured?

Following completion, the combined group would have a European shareholder base comprising Cerealis' existing shareholders — the Moreira Da Silva and Silva Domingues families and Sofina — alongside CVC Capital Partners, which would retain a minority stake. All four shareholders would hold seats on the group's board of directors.

Sofina CEO Harold Boël said the investment would support the combination and create "a major European food group", adding that backing multigenerational family-owned businesses and their long-term growth ambitions was central to the investment firm's strategy.

What happens next?

The transaction remains subject to information and consultation procedures with relevant employee representative bodies, as well as receipt of the required regulatory approvals. Expect works council consultations in France and Portugal first, followed by antitrust review in Brussels and potentially in national markets where the two groups overlap, before any completion timetable is confirmed.