Saputo Inc.

Last updated

Saputo Inc.
Company type Public
TSX:  SAP
IndustryFood - Major Diversified
FoundedSeptember 1954
Founder Lino Saputo
Headquarters
Montreal, Quebec
,
Canada
Area served
Canada, United States, Argentina, Australia, United Kingdom
Key people
  • Lino Saputo (founder)
  • Lino A. Saputo (chair and CEO)
RevenueIncrease2.svg C$17.843 billion (FY2023)
Increase2.svg C$1.553 billion (FY2023)
Number of employees
19,200 (2023)
Website saputo.com

Saputo Inc. is a Canadian dairy company based in Montreal, Quebec, founded in 1954 by the Saputo family. It produces, markets, and distributes a wide array of dairy products, including cheese, fluid milk, extended shelf-life milk and cream products, cultured products and dairy ingredients and is one of the top ten dairy processors in the world. [1] [2]

Contents

The company has expanded predominantly through mergers and acquisitions. Its products are sold in over 60 countries worldwide. [3] It operated in Wales and Germany from 2006 to 2013. [4] It used to own the Canadian rights to Hostess Brands products. [5]

History

Saputo plant, Montreal WTMTL T23 DSC 5756.JPG
Saputo plant, Montreal

Master cheesemaker Giuseppe Saputo, his son Lino Saputo and family immigrated to Montreal from Montelepre, Italy, in the early 1950s. In September 1954, Lino convinced his father to start his own business. Using $500 to buy some basic equipment and a bicycle for deliveries, the Saputo family founded a cheesemaking company bearing its name. In 1957, Saputo's first sizable production facility was built in Montreal's Saint-Michel neighbourhood. Saputo went through considerable growth in the 1960s and 1970s as demand for its products increased. It became Canada's largest producer of mozzarella in the 1980s. [6] [7]

In 1988, Saputo expanded to the United States by acquiring two cheese plants. In the 1990s, the company made several acquisitions to diversify its product offering and geographic reach. In 1997, it became a publicly traded company and tripled in size following the acquisition of Stella Foods in the US. [6]

In 2001, Saputo acquired Dairyworld Foods, the production and marketing arm of Agrifoods International Cooperative Ltd, which included the Dairyland milk and Armstrong cheese brands, for C$407 million. [8] Agrifoods International was itself the result of a series of mergers between dairy cooperatives in Western Canada in the 1990s. Armstrong Cheese was formerly an independent cheese maker in Armstrong, British Columbia, which was acquired by Dairyworld in 1997. After Saputo obtained the brand, it closed the plant in Armstrong.[ citation needed ]

In 2003, the firm continued to acquire businesses in the US and expanded into Argentina with the acquisition of Molfino Hermanos S.A. [9] That same year, while remaining chairman of the board Lino Saputo stepped down as president and CEO and was succeeded in this role by his son, Lino A. Saputo. [6] In 2008, Saputo acquired Neilson Dairy from George Weston Limited for C$465 million. [10] The firm announced in 2012 it would buy Morningstar Food for US$1.45 billion. [11] In January 2014, Saputo announced that they would be purchasing the fluid milk business of Scotsburn Co-operative Services Limited of Nova Scotia for $61 million. [12] In February 2014, Saputo acquired a relevant interest of 87.920 percent of Victoria, Australia, dairy product firm Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory Company Holdings Limited shares. [13] It acquired all the remaining shares in March 2017. [14]

On February 3, 2015, Canada Bread Company Limited completed a C$120 million acquisition of Saputo Bakery, a division of Saputo Inc. [15] Canada Bread Company Limited is a subsidiary of Mexico's Grupo Bimbo. [15]

In September 2017, Saputo announced the complete acquisition of the Extended Shelf-Life Dairy Product Activities of Southeast Milk, Inc. in the United States. [16] In November 2017, According to the reports, Saputo acquired Betin Inc. a Belmont specialty cheese maker with a facility that employs 319 workers. [17]

On February 22, 2019, it was announced that Saputo would be buying British dairy company, Dairy Crest. [18] The company was valued at C$1.7 billion (£975 million). [19] [20] The transaction was completed on April 15, 2019. [21]

Defamation lawsuits

In March 2008, Saputo Inc. launched three defamation lawsuits against the owners of three Canadian newspapers over stories that were published in December 2007 alluding to Lino Saputo being linked to organized crime. Saputo sued CTVGlobemedia, the publisher of the Globe and Mail, Quebecor Inc., which owns the Sun Media Group of Papers, and Gesca Ltd, the owner of Montreal's La Presse newspaper. Company CEO Lino Saputo Jr. claimed the articles contained false allegations against Lino Saputo and Saputo Inc. An Italian weekly magazine, L'Espresso, was also being sued for articles that ran in November of the same year. [22] Links between Lino Saputo and American mobster Joe Bonanno have been evidenced between 1964 and 1979. [23] [24]

Main shareholders

At February 10, 2022 [25]

Jolina Capital131,049,47631.6%
Placements Italcan42,500,00010.3%
Beutel, Goodman & Co9,140,2312.21%
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec6,869,5311.66%
The Vanguard Group6,720,7101.62%
Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.4 399 6311.06%
BMO Asset Management, Inc.4,303,7091.04%
BlackRock Fund Advisors3,522,5090.85%
RBC Global Asset Management, Inc.3,194,4780.77%
Mackenzie Financial Corp.3,149,2770.76%

Statistics

Brands

Brands by Saputo include: Saputo, Alexis de Portneuf, [27] Armstrong, [28] Cathedral City, [29] Cheer, [30] Clover, [31] Cracker Barrel [32] (trademark used under licence), Dairyland, [33] DairyStar, [34] Devondale, [35] Friendship Dairies, [36] Frigo, Frigo Cheese Heads, [37] Frylight, [29] Joyya [38] La Paulina, [39] Milk2Go, [40] Montchevre, [41] Murray Goulburn Ingredients, [42] Neilson, [43] Nutrilait, [44] Salemville, [45] Scotsburn (trademark used under license [46] ), Sheese, [47] South Cape, [48] Stella, [49] Sungold, [30] Tasmanian Heritage, Treasure Cave, [50] Woolwich Dairy [51] [52] and Yorkshire Wensleydale [53]

Divisions

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Our Company". saputo.com. June 9, 2017. Archived from the original on June 6, 2017. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Top world dairy companies". dairyinfo.gc.ca. October 2, 2019. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Shareholder Reports | Investors | Saputo". www.saputo.com|saputo.com. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Saputo bailing out of European cheese market". February 25, 2013. Archived from the original on February 23, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  5. ↑ Popken, Ben (November 19, 2012). "Twinkie's last stand: It's up to a mediator". Lifeinc.today.com. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 "Saputo History | Saputo". saputo.com. Archived from the original on June 10, 2017. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Cercle des Grands entrepreneurs du Québec". cercledesgrandsentrepreneurs.com. Archived from the original on December 2, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Saputo Inc. spends $407 million for Dairyworld Foods". CBC News. December 18, 2000. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Saputo is Golden". dairyfoods.com. Archived from the original on December 2, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Saputo acquires George Weston's Neilson dairy". Canada.com. October 22, 2008. Archived from the original on March 8, 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2013.
  11. ↑ Marotte, Bertrand (December 3, 2012). "Saputo buys U.S. dairy company Morningstar for $1.5-billion". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 15, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Scotsburn sells off its fluid milk business to Saputo". CBC News. January 17, 2014. Archived from the original on March 5, 2014. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Saputo Announces Takeover Offer for Warrnambool Has Closed" (PDF). saputo.com. February 12, 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 25, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  14. ↑ Marshall, Andrew (February 22, 2017). "Saputo completes WCB takeover". farmonline.com.au. Archived from the original on August 5, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  15. 1 2 "Mexico's Grupo Bimbo acquires Saputo Bakery". Fox News Latino. Archived from the original on February 5, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Saputo Completes the Acquisition of the Extended Shelf-Life Dairy Product Activities of Southeast Milk, Inc. in the United States". wallstreet-online.de. September 29, 2017. Archived from the original on October 12, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  17. ↑ "Saputo buys another Wisconsin cheese manufacturer". The Business Journals. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Cathedral City firm to be bought for £975m". BBC News. February 22, 2019. Archived from the original on February 22, 2019. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  19. ↑ Onita, Laura (February 22, 2019). "Dairy Crest deal set to net boss Mark Allen £4.8 million". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on February 23, 2019. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  20. ↑ "Canadian dairy giant Saputo enters U.K. market with $1.7B deal for Dairy Crest". Toronto Star. April 15, 2019. Archived from the original on July 6, 2019. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  21. ↑ "Saputo completes acquisition of Dairy Crest". Food Manufacture. April 18, 2019. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  22. ↑ "Saputo sues 3 Canadian newspapers for defamation". cbc.ca. March 8, 2008. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Cheese Company Studied For Organized Crime Tie". The New York Times . December 5, 1979. Archived from the original on January 18, 2020. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  24. ↑ "Quebec dairy mogul Lino Saputo had secret past dealings with U.S. mobster Joe Bonanno, then lied about it". cbc.ca. January 16, 2020. Archived from the original on January 3, 2023. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  25. ↑ "SAPUTO INC. : Shareholders Board Members Managers and Company Profile | CA8029121057 | MarketScreener". www.marketscreener.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  26. 1 2 3 "Corporate Information | Investors | Saputo". www.saputo.com|saputo.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  27. ↑ "Alexis de Portneuf (Saputo)". Canadian Dairy Information Centre. March 16, 2017. Archived from the original on August 5, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  28. ↑ "Armstrong Pizza Mozzarella Cheese made by Saputo". The Food Wiki. Archived from the original on August 5, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  29. 1 2 "Cathedral City maker Dairy Crest to be bought by Saputo". BBC News. February 22, 2019. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  30. 1 2 Neales, Sue (June 10, 2016). "Warrnambool owner Saputo flags fresh dairy pain". The Australian . Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  31. ↑ "Saputo completes acquisition of Dairy Crest". foodmanufacture.co.uk. April 18, 2019. Archived from the original on December 6, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  32. ↑ "Saputo poised to take total control of Warrnambool Cheese & Butter". The Australian . January 31, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  33. ↑ "HEALTH HAZARD ALERT - DAIRYLAND brand 1% chocolate milk may contain a chemical sanitizer". canada.ca. October 22, 2005. Archived from the original on August 5, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  34. ↑ "UPC 040900281888 DairyStar Saputo". Buycott.com . August 2, 2017. Archived from the original on August 5, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  35. ↑ "Saputo reaches deal to acquire Australian dairy firm for $1.29 billion - BNN Bloomberg". BNN. October 27, 2017. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  36. ↑ Briodagh, Kenneth (August 14, 2013). "Inside Friendship Dairies' Social Media Startup Strategy". eventmarketer.com. Archived from the original on August 5, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  37. ↑ "Frigo Cheese Heads Now Available in Bold New Flavors". Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. 2015. Archived from the original on August 5, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  38. ↑ "Saputo launches ultra-filtered milk brand Joyya in Canada". FoodBev Media. November 9, 2018. Archived from the original on December 17, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  39. ↑ "Saputo to buy Argentine dairy processor". The Globe and Mail . October 2, 2003. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  40. ↑ Astley, Mark (October 4, 2013). "Saputo enters sports recovery arena with high-protein Milk2Go extension". dairyreporter.com. Archived from the original on April 12, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  41. ↑ "Saputo completes acquisition of Montchevre Goat Cheese". dairyreporter.com. December 13, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  42. ↑ "Saputo acquires activities of Murray Goulburn in Australia". foodprocessing-technology.com. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  43. ↑ "Neilson chocolate milk recalled due to listeria concerns". CBC News. June 4, 2016. Archived from the original on June 19, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  44. ↑ "Saputo repositions Nutrilait milk brand for a messy life". Marketing . July 24, 2015. Archived from the original on June 24, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  45. ↑ Shepel, Jan. "Salemville Cheese Co-op creates market for Amish farmers' milk". Wisconsin State Farmer. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  46. ↑ Shannon, Chris (March 23, 2016). "Workers 'in shock' over Sydney dairy closure". Cape Breton Post . Archived from the original on August 5, 2017. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  47. ↑ "Saputo beefs up non-dairy cheese and value-added ingredients with 2 acquisitions | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  48. ↑ "Saputo Completes the Acquisition of the Specialty Cheese Business of Lion Dairy & Drinks Pty Ltd in Australia". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). October 28, 2019. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  49. ↑ "Saputo launches fresh mozzarella products under Stella brand". FoodBed Media. May 10, 2016. Archived from the original on August 5, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  50. ↑ "Saputo, Chunk Feta Cheese - Treasure Cave". Open Food Facts . March 9, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  51. ↑ "Saputo buys goat cheesemaker Woolwich Dairy". AGCanada.com. October 6, 2015. Archived from the original on August 5, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  52. ↑ "2020 Annual Report". Saputo Inc. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  53. ↑ "Saputo to acquire UK's cheese maker Wensleydale Dairy Products". foodprocessing-technology.com. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
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