Grain processor becomes biggest Nordic baker
in a move which will create the biggest bread group in the Nordic
region - and with a major export potential to boot.
Cerealia, the Swedish grains group, has acquired the Danish company Schulstad in a deal which will strengthen the two firm's Nordic business and boost exports.
Cerealia acquired Schulstad from Danish conglomerate Aktieselskabet Schouw & Co. (which owns around 66 per cent of the bakery) and pension fund Lønmodtagernes Dyrtidsfond (which owns the remaining third). The price paid was not disclosed.
The addition of Schulstad's SKr2.6 billion business will turn Cerealia into the biggest player in the Nordic bread market, the company claimed. Both Cerealia and Schulstad have operations in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Poland, among others, and both also have substantial exports to countries such as Germany and the UK.
Cerealia's bread business (Cerealia Bakeries) includes the brands Hatting, Korvbrödsbagarn, Paaskebrød and Skogaholms brands, and the company's sales reached SKr3.2 billion last year.
"This is a logical acquisition with far-reaching synergies and possibilities," said Håkan Ahlqvist, CEO and group managing director of Cerealia. "Cerealia Bakeries and Schulstad are two companies which complement each other well, both in terms of products and markets. We will be the leading Nordic bread supplier and at the same time build foundations for strengthening and developing the business on new markets."
"Bread is an important end product made from grain," said Bo Sundström, chairman of the board of directors at Cerealia. "Therefore this is a strategically important acquisition for Cerealia and its owners."
