AGRANA launch in Slovenia: acquisition of the food company Mercator-Emba successfully concluded

CEO Büttner: ”Growth in the booming food service sector”

Following approval from the international anti-trust authorities at the end of March, the food and industrial group AGRANA has now successfully closed the acquisition of Mercator-Emba d.o.o. (EMBA) in Slovenia and assumed management of the production activities. This is the first time that AGRANA has operated a production facility in Slovenia. The site is located about 30 kilometres south-west of Ljubljana, employs around 100 staff and generates annual revenues of approximately 30 million euro. EMBA is among Slovenia’s leading food producers for out-of-home caterers (food service), food processors and retailers, and is also renowned for its expertise in the production of cacao instant products, syrups and dessert toppings. These products are primarily shipped to Central, Southern and Eastern Europe.

“The new production facility in Slovenia plays a particularly important role in achieving our goal of boosting growth in Europe. The purchase of EMBA opens up additional sales markets for AGRANA and provides access to further customer segments in the booming food service sector. This is entirely attuned to our NEXT LEVEL corporate strategy, which focusses on profitable growth in the Food & Beverage Solutions business area. Our top priority is the development of customised solutions for our customers in the food and beverages sector,” stresses AGRANA CEO Stephan Büttner.

“For 70 years, Emba has been a trusted and leading supplier to the food service and retail sectors across Central, Southeast and Eastern Europe. Today, we are entering a new era — one in which Emba will be empowered and renewed as a valued member of the Agrana Group. We are confident in our ability to realize our long-term vision and growth strategy, and to make a lasting contribution to the success of the entire group,” explains Mercator-Emba CEO Darja Jamnik.

AGRANA’s broad food and beverage solutions portfolio includes formulations such as fruit preparations, brown flavours, savoury preparations, flavours, syrups and sauces. For example, these products are shipped to dairies for use in yoghurt applications, to the ice cream and bakery sector, to beverage producers and to food service companies such as quick service restaurants. AGRANA operates 37 production sites worldwide in its Food & Beverage Solutions business area, of which 20 are in Europe.

About AGRANA

AGRANA converts agricultural raw materials into high-quality foods and numerous industrial intermediate products. With around 9,000 employees, the two business areas Food & Beverage Solutions and Agricultural Commodities & Specialities generate annual Group revenue of approximately € 3.2 billion at 50 production sites worldwide. Established in 1988, the company is the global market leader in fruit preparations and the world’s leading producer (and supplier) of apple juice concentrates and berry juice concentrates. AGRANA is the leading sugar company in Central and Eastern Europe and a major producer of customised potato, corn and wheat starch products as well as of bioethanol.

For queries, please contact:

Markus Simak, Public Relations
+43 1 21137 12084, markus.simak@agrana.com

Hannes Haider, Investor Relations
+43 1 21137 12905, hannes.haider@agrana.com
 

This announcement is available in German and English at www.agrana.com.