Vaasan & Vaasan Group has acquired the Norwegian bake-off company Culinor
AS. The acquisition agreement was signed on April 18th, 2008, and is subject to
Norwegian competition authority approval. The parties have decided not to
disclose transaction price. Vaasan & Vaasan Group acquired the shares from
the majority shareholder French Neuhauser Group, a leading European bake-off manufacturer and the management of Culinor
AS. With the acquisition Vaasan & Vaasan Group strengthens its position as
a major Nordic bake-off operator.
Culinor AS operates in the HoReCa
segment of the Norwegian bake-off market and is the second-largest player in
this segment with a market share of approximately 19%. In 2007 the Company had
a turnover of NOK 118.8 million (EUR 15.0 million) and a staff of 17 employees.
"The acquisition will enable Culinor AS to strengthen its
market leadership through Vaasan & Vaasan Group's wide product portfolio
and Bonjour brand. As part of Vaasan & Vaasan Group Culinor's
nationwide sales organization will provide its customers a wider and better
product portfolio, stronger support, and customized service", notes Ernst
R. Bjaarstad,
Managing Director of Culinor.
Vaasan & Vaasan
Group is the leading producer of fresh bread, bake-off, crisp bread and other
bakery products in Finland and the Baltic States. The Group is also the number
two producer of bake-off products in the Nordic region and the second largest
producer of crisp bread in the world.
The acquisition strengthens further Vaasan & Vaasan Group's position in the
Nordic bake-off market. Vaasan & Vaasan Group bake-off business unit
consists of Nordic Bake Off AB in Sweden with own production sites in Fagersta
and Gotland, and Vaasan & Vaasan Oy Joutseno
bake-off production facility in Finland. The Group bake-off turnover in 2007
was approximately EUR 100 million with some 380 employees.
"The Norwegian bake-off market is estimated to continue to grow strongly.
The acquisition gives us an excellent opportunity to develop our bake-off
business and strengthen our market position in Norway and other Nordic
countries", says Matti Lappalainen,
CEO of Vaasan & Vaasan Group.
For further
information, please contact:
Vaasan & Vaasan Group:
Matti
Lappalainen,
Chief Executive Officer,
Vaasan & Vaasan Group
Tel. +358 204 46 2001, e-mail: matti.lappalainen@vaasan.com
Bernt Lindberg, Managing Director,
Nordic Bake Off AB
Tel. + 46 8 619 3401, e-mail: bernt.lindberg@nordicbakeoff.se
For Culinor,
please contact:
Ernst R. Bjaarstad,
Managing Director,
Culinor
AS
Tel. +47 901 09 969, e-mail: ernst@culinor.no
Vaasan & Vaasan Group:
Vaasan & Vaasan Group is the leading bakery
business in Finland and the Baltic region, and the second-largest Nordic
operator in bake-off products. Vaasan & Vaasan is also the second-largest crisp
bread producer in the world. The Group consists of Vaasan & Vaasan Oy
in Finland, A/S Leibur in Estonia, A/S Hanzas Maiznicas
in Latvia, UAB Vilniaus Duona in Lithuania and Nordic
Bake Off
AB in Sweden. Each Baltic subsidiary is the market leader in its own country,
while Nordic Bake Off AB is the second-largest producer of bake-off
products in Sweden. In 2007 the Group had a turnover of approximately EUR 363
million and it employed some 3,300 people.
www.vaasan.com
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