30 October 2007 - Rumours have been circulating in the Russian press that leading candy maker Ruza Confectionery Factory (RKF) is about to be sold to a foreign multinational in early 2008.
Confectionery giants Nestle, Kraft Foods, and Fazer Group are all reportedly interested in acquiring the Russian firm, valued at USD 240 million.
“Ruza Confectionary Factory has no comments and official returns”, a company spokesperson told FLEXNEWS this morning.
Based in Ruza, near Moscow, the Ruza Confectionery Factory was built in 1998. The manufacturing plant has an annual production capacity of 20,000 tons.
The firm sells its sweets in all the retail chains of Moscow and the large stores of the Russian regions. Ruza’s products were also sold outside of Russia for the first time in 2005.
“The first sweets under the trademark RUZANNA were produced in 2000, and likewise the premium chocolates COMILFO in February 2004. RUZANNA soufflé today is the brand # 1 in the Russian soufflé market; with COMILFO trademark RKF is one of three leading Russian producers of chocolates of the PREMIUM segment”, says the company.
RKF saw its 2006 turnover amount to USD 64 million.
The last significant foreign investment in the Russian confectionery industry took place in January this year when Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company spent USD 300 million for an 80% stake in A. Korkunov, a privately held premium chocolate company.