Swiss bakery group Aryzta has acquired Société Européenne des Beurres (SEB), its long-standing regional distributor in South-West France, through its subsidiary Coup de Pates. The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Founded in 1973, SEB has served as the exclusive regional distributor of Coup de Pates and La Carte d'Hubert since 1991. The acquisition was triggered by a shareholder succession process, converting more than three decades of commercial partnership into direct ownership.

Urs Jordi, Interim CEO and Chairman of Aryzta, said the deal

"strengthens Coup de Pates as a regional frozen food distributor in South-West France and provides a strong platform for organic growth in our French business."

The strategic logic is rooted in cold-chain logistics. Building a frozen food distribution network in a region from scratch demands sustained investment: warehouse infrastructure, local commercial teams and established customer relationships. By acquiring SEB outright, Aryzta sidesteps that process entirely. The group gains immediate access to an existing customer base and operational footprint in the Bordeaux area -- assets that would be both time-consuming and costly to build independently.

Coup de Pates supplies bakery, pastry, foodservice and institutional catering professionals across France and is central to Aryzta's French operations. The integration of SEB is intended to reinforce its regional logistics capability.

Aryzta, headquartered in Schlieren, Switzerland and listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, reported revenues of €2.2 billion for fiscal year 2025, up 1.3% year on year, with organic growth of 1.5%. EBITDA was €306.9 million, representing a margin of 13.8% against 14.6% the previous year. Net leverage stood at 2.6x EBITDA, compared with 2.8x previously.