April 14/Montreal/Marketwired -- Saputo Inc. completed the transaction announced on January 17, 2014, and acquired the fluid milk activities of Scotsburn Co-Operative Services Limited based in Atlantic Canada. Scotsburn is a Nova Scotia cooperative that will continue its other activities such as its frozen ice cream and frozen novelties business.

The purchase price of $61 million, on a debt-free basis excludes about $8 million of working capital items and was paid by drawing on available credit lines.

The Scotsburn Fluid Milk Business operates two fluid milk processing facilities located in Sydney, Nova Scotia, and Mount Pearl, Newfoundland, and employs an aggregate of approximately 400 people in Atlantic Canada. Its operations consist of manufacturing, selling, marketing, distributing and merchandising of products such as fluid milk, cream, sour cream, ice cream mix and cottage cheese, mainly under the Scotsburn brand. The Scotsburn Fluid Milk Business generates annual sales of approximately $160 million and about $8 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).

This transaction will enable Saputo's Dairy Division (Canada) to increase its presence in Atlantic Canada.