Press release -
Acquisition of two new pizza chains in Germany
New York Pizza has acquired the Flying Pizza and Pizza Planet pizza chains, which in total own 73franchisee-operated sales outlets in Germany. These purchases were made one month after the acquisition of the German pizza chain Stückwerk.
“We have now established a solid foothold in the growing German pizza market. We have a clear ambition of increasing our presence in the out of home channel, which has higher growth than the traditional grocery sector,” says Orkla President and CEO Jaan Ivar Semlitsch.
In June, Orkla signed an agreement to purchase approximately 75% of the shares in New York Pizza, a leading pizza chain in the Netherlands. These acquisitions give New York Pizza 342 franchisee-operated sales outlets: 234 in the Netherlands, 107 in Germany and one in Belgium. Orkla also owns the leading pizza chain in Finland, Kotipizza, which has a total of 293 sales outlets. This means that 635 franchisee-operated sales outlets are now part of Orkla.
“With the acquisitions of Stückwerk, Flying Pizza and Pizza Planet we are well on our way to also becoming one of the leading pizza chains in Germany. We will continue to grow both organically and structurally when opportunities arise,” says Kenneth Haavet, Orkla EVP and CEO of Orkla Consumer & Financial Investments, as well as Board Chair of New York Pizza.
Flying Pizza has 43 franchisee-operated sales outlets in northern and eastern Germany. Pizza Planet has 30 outlets concentrated in the suburbs of Berlin. Stückwerk is based in the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen and has 32 outlets. Measured in consumer sales, the three pizza chains had a total turnover of EUR 45.3 million in 2020, equivalent to NOK 448 million. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase prices.
“I am very pleased with these acquisitions. The three chains combined have a lot of experience. Together with our state-of-the-art e-commerce and technology, and high quality ingredients and dough we see an opportunity to add value in the German pizza market,” says Philippe Vorst, CEO of New York Pizza.
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Orkla is a leading supplier of branded consumer goods and concept solutions to the consumer, out-of-home and bakery markets in the Nordics, Baltics and selected markets in Central Europe and India. Orkla is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and its headquarters is in Oslo. In 2018, the Group had a turnover of NOK 41 billion, and approximately 18,500 employees as of 31 December 2018.
