Lagardere travel retail, a division of French conglomerate Lagardere (LAGA.PA), said on Wednesday it had agreed to buy U.S.-based Hojeij Branded Foods for $330 million as it refocuses on services like airport shops.
HBF, based in Atlanta, operates restaurants and coffee shops in airports with partner brands such as Italy’s illycaffe, and also owns some like Vino Volo, a wine bar group it bought last year.
Lagardere has been looking to sell off some assets such as Elle magazine as it moves away from the tougher media industry, though boss Arnaud Lagardere has said he wanted to hang onto publications like Paris-Match.
He had flagged travel retail as one focus for fresh investments, and publishing.
The HBF acquisition, which should close in the fourth quarter of 2018, will entail costs savings of around $10 million annually from the fourth year after the acquisition, the French group said in a statement.
Source: Reuters.com