Maple Leaf Foods, Inc. has closed the acquisition of VIAU Foods, a Canadian market leader in Italian-cooked, dry-cured and charcuterie meats, for a purchase price of $215 million, including $30 million in Maple Leaf stock. VIAU had sales of $180 million when its fiscal year ended in March.
Established in 1977, VIAU produces a range of value-added prepared meat products including sausages, pizza toppings, shaved steak and meatballs. It also produces a range of gourmet deli and premium charcuterie products including salametti, capicollo, pancetta and sliced chorizo. VIAU is a leading supplier of dried pepperoni and other pizza toppings to the North American food service industry and markets its products through retailers across Canada.
This acquisition expands Maple Leaf's position in the market for premium, dry-cured and pepperoni meat products and provides further production capacity in Quebec. VIAU employs 470 people at its two Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Safe Quality Food (SQF)-accredited facilities in Laval and Montreal.
