Barry Callebaut buys Arla Foods’ subsidiary AM Foods
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- 08 July 2004
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AM Foods in Kågeröd in Sweden, a subsidiary of Arla Foods, has been acquired by Switzerland’s Barry Callebaut, one of Europe’s leading producers of high quality cocoa and chocolate products.
The acquisition is expected to take effect on 1 September, following approval by the German competition authorities.
AM Foods has been making chocolate and cappuccino powder for primarily the European food service sector for the past 30 years and has an annual turnover of DKK 250 million.
The disposal of AM Foods is in line with Arla Foods’ strategy of focusing on core businesses. AM Foods’ 78 employees in several European countries will be offered positions with the Barry Callebaut Group where they will join the Gourmet & Specialities business unit. Gourmet & Specialities will subsequently have a combined workforce of 100 and a turnover of DKK 500 million on the chocolate and cappucino powder market. The total turn over of Gourmet & Specialities is DKK 2,3 million.
”We’re pleased to see AM Foods acquired by a strong player in the cocoa sector and vending products,” said Bengt Mårtensson, Group Director of Arla Foods and Chairman of AM Foods.
”Joining a group with Barry Callebaut’s strength within the area of cocoa and chocolate powder will open up new opportunities for AM Foods. This will benefit both the staff and the company.”
The publicly quoted company, Barry Callebaut, and Arla Foods signed the deal on July 2.
“The acquisition of AM Foods provides us with a facility which, in terms of production technology, is second to none,” says Benoît Villers, Director of the Gourmet & Specialities unit. “The acquisition also enables us to strengthen our position in a Europe where consumers are increasingly eating outside the home.”
Arla Foods is an international dairy company owned by more than 8,400 farmers from Denmark, Sweden, the UK, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Arla Foods is one of the leading players in the international dairy arena with well-known brands like Arla®, Lurpak®, Puck® and Castello®. Arla Foods is focused on providing good dairy nourishment from sustainable farming and operations and is also the world's largest manufacturer of organic dairy products.
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