Sobeys will sell its milk, yogurt and ice cream manufacturing operations to Quebec-based dairy co-operative Agropur. The dairy plants located in Western Canada include two in Edmonton, one in Winnipeg, and one in Burnaby, B.C. They will be sold for $356 million to Agropur.
The manufacturing operations have 281 workers all together, and process over 169 million litres of milk every year. They generate $400 million of annual revenue. Agropur will license the Lucerne trademark from Sobeys and supply Sobeys stores among others with the dairy products produced.
“This agreement maximizes the value for these assets while securing long-term supply agreements that create synergies for our entire Canadian business,” says Marc Poulin, president and CEO of Sobeys. “It also ensures that these facilities will continue to produce the very popular Lucerne dairy brand, which will not only remain available in our Safeway banner stores, but will be expanded to our network of Sobeys and IGA stores throughout the West.”
