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Irish bacon specialist M&M Walshe has been bought by Eight Fifty Food Group, owner of Karro and Young’s Seafood.

The undisclosed deal adds a further £200 million in sales to the North Yorkshire-headquartered operation, with sites in Tipperary and Kilkenny in Ireland, and Redditch in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ.

It also marks the first step in an international expansion plan.

M&M Walshe, trading as RibWorld, Callan Bacon and Stirchley Bacon, is a processor and multi-channel supplier of gammon, bacon and sous-vide meat products.

Post-transaction, Eight Fifty will have sales of around £1.4 billion and employ more than 7,500 people across 19 sites, with 550 in this acquisition. The Walshe family, who have operated M&M Walshe since its foundation in 1981, will remain involved with the business.

Di Walker, group chief executive of Eight Fifty Food Group, said: “We have been working with the Walshe and Clohessy families for over 30 years and have seen their business grow significantly to become one of Europe’s largest sous-vide specialists.. We’re delighted to welcome M&M Walshe into the Eight Fifty Food Group and look forward to continue growing with them.”

The transaction is subject to standard closing conditions and approval from the Irish Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

Director of M&M Walshe, John Walshe, said: “The interest shown in our business is a great reflection of the quality of our products, our people and our loyal customer base. We look forward to working with Di Walker and the Eight Fifty team and seeing the business flourish under new ownership.”