Milcobel sells its Ysco ice cream plants

Belgian dairy cooperative Milcobel is selling its ice cream division Ysco to American investment group Davidson Kempner, to focus on its dairy business. Ysco produces 190 million litres of ice cream a year for private labels.

The second largest producer

Ysco hass two factories, at Belgian Langemark and French Argentan. The company manufactures ice cream for almost all the major European supermarket groups, and claims to be Europe’s second-largest private label ice cream producer.

Although the private label ice cream market is growing (at an average annual growth rate of 5 %), it is also undergoing significant consolidation. With losses of 11.6 million euros last year, rising costs and a problematic ERP implementation, Milcobel is looking to exit the industry and focus entirely on its dairy business. Earlier in the year, the cooperative also carried out a reorganisation that resulted in the loss of 130 jobs.

The transaction will give Ysco the capital and capacity to pursue its development and position itself even firmer as one of Europe’s leading ice cream producers. The buyer, Davidson Kempner, is a global asset manager with assets of around 38 billion dollars.