Raisio Divests Malt Business
Raisio, the Finnish foods and functional food ingredients manufacturer famous for its Benecol brand, has sold its malt business in Finland for Eur17m to Viking Malt, the largest malt manufacturer in the Nordic Countries. The divestment of the malt business is part of the streamlining of Raisio’s activities.
The competitive situation in the European malt market has been challenging for some time because of overcapacity of the sector, centralisation of breweries as well as other raw materials used as malt substitutes. The deal facilitates the continuation of a strong malt industry in Finland and domestic breweries continue to have a Finnish malt supplier.
Viking Malt Group is owned by Finnish Polttimo Oy and Swedish Lantmannen Group. Its production plants are located in Finland, Sweden and Lithuania. Viking Malt sells its products to the brewing and beverage industries worldwide. Net sales of Viking Malt Group were Eur85m in 2010.
