21.03.2005
Vaasan & Vaasan Oy Increases its Share in Lithuanian Subsidiary to 100%

On 18 March 2005, Vaasan & Vaasan Oy made an agreement to increase its stake in Lithuanian subsidiary UAB Vilniaus Duona Plius from the current 60% to 100%. The shares are being sold by a privately owned Lithuanian company. The acquisition is dependent on approval from Lithuanian competition authorities and the Vaasan & Vaasan Group’s financiers.

With its 25% market share, Vilniaus Duona Plius is the largest bakery company in the country. In 2004, the company’s turnover was approximately EUR 24 million and it employed 1,100 people in five production units. Vilniaus Duona Plius has been a subsidiary of the Vaasan & Vaasan Group since 2002.

“This acquisition will work to simplify our ownership of Baltic subsidiaries according to our strategic plan. A simpler ownership structure promotes development,” explains Managing Director Matti Lappalainen of Vaasan & Vaasan Oy. "In addition to developing local operations, we will strive to make the operating models of our Baltic companies more unified. The simplification of ownership structures furthers the increase of cooperation between group companies and the creation of common processes,” Lappalainen goes on to say.

The Vaasan & Vaasan Group has a market-leading position in the Baltic region. The Estonian group company AS Leibur has a 30% market share and the Latvian A/S Hanzas Maiznicas a 28% market share in their respective countries. The total production of the group’s Baltic subsidiaries is around 100 million kilograms per year, accounting for around half of the Vaasan & Vaasan Group’s production volume.


Further information:
Vaasan & Vaasan Oy
Matti Lappalainen, Managing Director
tel. +358 400 403 797
Ants Promann, Director, Baltic Operations
tel. +372 5043 357
Harri Roos, Director, Group Support
tel. +358 400 701 061


Vaasan & Vaasan Group is the largest bakery business in Finland and in the Baltic region, one of the largest crisp bread producers in the world and a significant Nordic producer of bake-off products.

Vaasan & Vaasan Group includes Vaasan & Vaasan Oy in Finland, AS Leibur in Estonia, A/S Hanzas Maiznicas in Latvia, UAB Vilniaus Duona Plius in Lithuania and Delice Scandinavica AB in Sweden. The Group’s turnover for 2004 was EUR 287 million generated by approximately 3 700 employees.

www.vaasan.com