Swiss chocolatier Barry Callebaut to buy cocoa ingredients division of Petra Foods for $950 mn
12 Dec 2012
Switzerland's Barry Callebaut, the world's largest chocolate manufacturer, today said that it would buy the cocoa ingredients division of Singapore-based Petra Foods, for $950 million in cash.
The acquisition will give the Zurich-based company seven factories in countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, France, Germany, Brazil and Mexico, with combined annual grinding capacity of 405,000 metric tons.
The deal, which is expected to close in mid-2013, will make Barry Callebaut the world's largest cocoa processor.
Cocoa Ingredients Division is one of the world's major manufacturers and suppliers of cocoa ingredients, as well as a leading manufacturer in branded consumer confectionery products.
Petra Foods entered the cocoa ingredients business in 1988, and is now the largest cocoa ingredients supplier in Asia.
The business has about 1,700 employees, customers in more than 60 countries and sales of around $1.3 billion (CHF 1.1 billion) in 2011.
