{"id":872041,"date":"2026-08-27T09:54:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T07:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=872041"},"modified":"2026-08-27T09:54:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T07:54:15","slug":"woolworths-buying-r5-billion-a-year-giant-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/872041\/woolworths-buying-r5-billion-a-year-giant-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Woolworths buying R5 billion a year giant in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Woolworths’ acquisition of In2food is progressing at South Africa’s competition authorities, with the Competition Commission opening the deal for input.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woolworths Holdings Limited announced plans earlier this year to acquire 100% of the shares in In2food, a privately owned prepared-foods manufacturer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It announced that it will purchase In2food from its founders, Old Mutual Private Equity (OMPE), and other existing shareholders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In2food is a South African-based, market-leading supplier of high-quality convenience foods and is one of the most important suppliers to Woolworths Foods. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company generates over R5 billion in revenue annually through its diverse range of premium private-label products in the categories of convenience food, fresh produce, long-life products, and bakery items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CompCom’s latest weekly merger and acquisition update<\/a> has the transaction listed top among those where interested parties can review and make inputs, where necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CompCom update indicates that the deal is progressing. The transaction is formally registered as Case Number 2026MAR0036.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woolworths Proprietary Limited is identified as the Primary Acquiring Firm, and In2food Holdings Proprietary Limited is the Primary Target Firm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The merger was initially filed on March 18, 2026, immediately after Woolworths’ public announcement of the deal on March 17, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The deal has been officially classified as a Large Merger (“L”), which aligns with In2food’s status as a significant market player that generates over R5 billion in annual revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case list shows that the initial due date was set for May 19, 2026. However, to allow for a thorough review of this large-scale transaction, the decision deadline has been extended to September 3, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This extension indicates that the transaction is currently under active scrutiny by South African competition authorities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are ensuring that all suspensive commercial and legal conditions are carefully evaluated before the deal can be finalised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The transaction was announced as subject to regulatory and commercial suspensive conditions, including approval from South African competition authorities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following these reviews, the commission will publish its recommendations on whether the Competition Tribunal should approve, reject, or apply conditions to the proposed transaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In2food and Woolworths<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Woolworths Group CEO Roy Bagattini<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Woolworths has partnered with In2food since the early 1990s. In2food itself was established in 2010 through the merger of Interfruit and Lombardi Foods. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woolworths Food is In2food\u2019s largest customer, while the remaining clients include various local and international companies across foodservice and wholesale channels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWoolworths and In2food share a more than three-decade history of partnership in creating products of outstanding quality and innovation to meet the evolving needs of our customers,\u201d said Woolworths Group CEO Roy Bagattini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis acquisition represents a compelling opportunity to bring a key strategic capability closer to the Woolworths Foods business, strengthening one of the core points of differentiation in our premium food offering.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woolworths announced that In2food has a highly experienced senior leadership team with extensive expertise across various areas of the food sector. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This management team will continue to operate In2food as an independent business within Woolworths to ensure seamless continuity of operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bagattini stated that the acquisition does not indicate any change in Woolworths’ overall food sourcing model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur unique relationship with our suppliers is what differentiates us and is fundamental to delivering our premium food offering,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis transaction further enhances the relationship we have with one of our most innovative suppliers, and will extend mutual benefits to our entire value chain and end-customers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woolworths stated that the deal will enhance the earnings of the Woolworths Group, even before accounting for anticipated operational efficiencies to be realised over time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The purchase will be financed entirely in cash, using Woolworths’ existing financial resources. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The completion of the deal is contingent upon meeting both regulatory and commercial conditions, which include obtaining approval from South Africa’s competition authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWoolworths and In2food have an extended track record of close collaboration, focused on delivering high-quality, innovative food products aligned with Woolworths Foods\u2019 premium positioning,\u201d said Richard Cooper, CEO of In2food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Transaction further enhances Woolworths Foods\u2019 ability to protect product quality, innovation and availability, which are core to its differentiated customer proposition.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Competition Commission is reviewing Woolworths’ plans to acquire 100% of the shares in In2food, with an extended deadline.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":839534,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2092883580464619926","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2187962208690845","_sma_instagram_post_id":"18091355570402075","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[1879,23783,949],"class_list":["post-872041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-competition-comission","tag-in2food","tag-woolworths"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=872041"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872041\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":872291,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872041\/revisions\/872291"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/839534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=872041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=872041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=872041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}