FDBusiness.com

Orkla has taken a significant step towards becoming a pure play branded consumer goods company by agreeing to acquire the family-owned Rieber & Son. The transaction values the entire company (on a debt-free basis) at NOK 6.1 billion (Eur831 million).

Rieber & Son is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, and is an important supplier to grocery stores in the Nordic countries, parts of Central Europe and Russia. Its well-known brands include Toro, Vitana, K-Salat, Delecta, Frodinge, Chaka and Bähncke. In 2011, its total sales amounted to about NOK4.3 billion. EBITDA came to NOK642 million in 2010 and NO 464 million in 2011. The company has a total of 2,900 employees, of whom 1,700 work outside of Norway.

“Together, Rieber & Son and Orkla will be the leading Nordic food manufacturer, with the expertise and resources to develop strong local products and brands in competition with international players,” comments Age Korsvold, chief executive of Orkla.

The Rieber family has owned the company since it was founded in 1839.Rieber & Son has a range of familiar brands and businesses: Toro is Norway’s leading supplier of sauces, soups and ready-made meals, and other products. Other famous Norwegian brands in Rieber & Søn’s portfolio include Denja, Mr Lee, Vossafar and Vestlandslefsa. Vitana is one of the CzechRepublic’s largest and most renowned food manufacturers. K-Salat has a good position in both Sweden and Denmark in mayonnaise, remoulade and salads. Delecta is one of Poland’s leading dessert and bake mix brands. Frodinge is the market leader in chilled and frozen cakes and desserts in Sweden. Chaka is a well-known Russian brand of nuts. Bähncke is the leading Danish mustard brand. In addition, Rieber & Søn supplies the food service sector in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

“With this acquisition, Orkla expands its product portfolio and gains strong market positions in categories that are entirely new to us. Rieber & Son has created local food customs and defined the well-loved taste of a number of familiar products. The company has strong brands that are an optimal fit for Orkla’s product portfolio as regards categories, production technology and geography,” Age Korsvold elaborates.

Closing of the transaction is conditional upon receiving approval from the European Commission and Russian competition authorities. It is expected that closing of the transaction can take place by the end of Q1 2013.

CAPTION:

From left to right: Oystein Elgan, lawyer and director in Bjarne Rieber Gruppen, Fritz T Rieber, representantative of the Rieber family, chairman of Orkla Stein Erik Hagen og, and president and chief executive of Orkla Age Korsvold.