AAK acquires Croda Food Services

AAK acquires Croda Food Services

AAK UK, the UK division of global speciality oils company AAK AB, has acquired
Croda Food Services from Croda International Plc. The business based in Oldham,
UK, supplies a range of products and services to the bakery industry including
release agents and divider oils together with bespoke delivery systems.

With sales of over £17m, the business has a strong position in the UK bakery
sector and healthy export sales. The President of AAK UK, Ian McIntosh said, “We
are delighted to have concluded this deal which fits so well with our strategy
of offering specialty oil-based products and services and, as a major player in
the UK bakery fats sector, enhancing our product range in this way will offer
our customers a more complete package to meet their needs”. 

The new business will be incorporated into the AAK UK structure and trade as AAK
Bakery Services. As well as operating one of the UK's biggest vegetable oil
refineries located in Hull, AAK UK also includes AAK Foods based in Runcorn,
Cheshire which offers sauces, dressings and marinades to the retail and
foodservice sectors.

AAK Bakery Services, which comprises an investment of £5.5m plus net working
capital, will continue to operate from its Oldham base and the company has plans
to expand its focus on export markets where the specialist nature of its
products is in demand.

“We are striving for a growing proportion of high value-added products. A step
in this direction of forward integration is the acquisition of Croda Food
Services which strengthens our position in the bakery sector” says Jerker
Hartwall, President and CEO of AAK Group. This acquisition will generate profit
during 2007.

For more details contact: Jerker Hartwall, President and CEO AAK AB, 
phone: +46 40 627 83 26, e-mail: jerker.hartwall@aak.com 

AarhusKarlshamn is the world's leading producer of high value-added speciality
vegetable fats. These fats are characterized by a high technological content and
are used as substitute for butter-fat and cocoa butter, transfree solutions for
fillings in chocolate and confectionery products, and in the cosmetics industry.
AarhusKarlshamn has production facilities in Denmark, Mexico, the Netherlands,
Sweden, Great Britain, Uruguay and the US. The company is organised in three
Business Areas; Chocolate and Confectionery Fats, Food Ingredients and Technical
Products & Feed.
Further information on AarhusKarlshamn can be found on the company's website
www.aak.com.