May 30 - The Vaasan & Vaasan Group signed the closing documents of Culinor AS acquisition on May 26th, 2008 after receiving Norwegian Competition Authority approval for the transaction.
On May 29th, 2008 Culinor AS, 100% owned by the Vaasan & Vaasan Group, acquired HoReCa and service trade bake-off business of Mills DA. The acquisition is subject to Norwegian Competition Authority approval and completion of transaction.In 2007 the turnover of HoReCa and service trade bake-off business of Mills DA was approximately EUR 11.5 million (NOK 90.5 million). The combined year 2007 turnover of Culinor AS and acquired Mills DA business is EUR 26.6 million (NOK 209.3 million).
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 acquisitions of Culinor AS and HoReCa and service trade bake-off business of Mills DA further strengthen 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 production sites in Fagersta and Gotland, Culinor AS in Norway, and Vaasan & Vaasan Oy with Joutseno bake-off production facility in Finland. After the acquisitions the Group pro-forma bake-off turnover exceeds EUR 125 million (NOK 980 million) with some 400 employees.
"The Norwegian bake-off market is estimated to continue to grow strongly. The acquisitions of Culinor AS and HoReCa and service trade bake-off business of Mills DA give us an excellent opportunity to develop our bake-off business and further consolidate our strong position in the Nordic market", says Kalle Tanhuanpää, CEO of the Vaasan & Vaasan Group.
The Vaasan & Vaasan Group:
The 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, Nordic Bake Off AB in Sweden, and Culinor AS in Norway. 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 (NOK 2,858 million) and it employed some 3,300 people.