Gate Gourmet has completed the purchase of deSter Holding BV of Amsterdam, the provider of in-flight hospitality items and owner of Supplair, the supplier of packaged airline meals as the company announced. The deal with Stockholm based EQT, a private equity fund that bought deSter in 1999, was announced in July and reviewed by competition authorities in various countries without comment. Terms were not disclosed.

“This transaction, along with other recent investments, helps to move Gate Gourmet beyond the model of a traditional airline caterer,” said Chairman and CEO David Siegel. “Now, in addition to creating menus, cooking and delivering the food for our customers, we also can design and deliver the cups, cutlery and many other contact and passenger comfort items that help an airline distinguish its brand. We are offering a full array of best-in-class products and services across the entire in-flight value chain.”

deSter, which had sales of €235 million in 2006, has operations on three continents and over 350 airlines as customers. Its Supplair subsidiary, which assembles branded and non-branded food components off-airport, introduces a new, and competing, option to Gate Gourmet’s traditional catering product.

“Airlines have told us they want flexibility and choice. This transaction demonstrates our commitment to an evolving business line responsive to our customers’ needs,” Siegel said.

deSter was founded in 1936 and employs approximately 1,000 employees. It operates assembly units and warehouses throughout Europe and the U.S. and has production facilities in Hoogstraten, Belgium, and Prachinburi, Thailand.