Raisio plc Stock Exchange Release, 13 July 2016, at 9.30 a.m. Finnish time
RAISIO SOLD ITS UK SNACK BAR BUSINESS
Raisio Group has sold Halo Foods ltd to hands-on investor Nimbus with an agreement signed on 12 July 2016. Halo Foods’ business and employees in the UK have been transferred to the new owner.
CEO Matti Rihko says that Raisio will withdraw from manufacturing of snack bars marketed to consumers under its partners' brands and focus on the development and marketing of proprietary branded products. “For Raisio, it is important to expand the range of its branded products in line with consumer needs, not to produce itself all the products in the range.”
Key assets of Halo Foods include its factories in Newport and Swindon as well as the Dormen brand. Also all employees, some 300 persons, have been transferred to the new owner. Raisio will record a loss of approximately EUR 19 million for the divestment of Halo Foods business and approximately EUR 1 million as restructuring costs related to the UK Snack & Cereal business in the second quarter EBIT.
Halo Foods became part of Raisio through the Glisten acquisition in 2010. The company is a manufacturer of its partners’ branded products. Raisio had centralised the production of its snack bars to Newport and the packaging of nibbles and nuts to the Swindon factory. Halo Foods generated turnover of EUR 18 million in period January - June 2016.
Nimbus is a Dutch hands-on investor with significant experience in acquisitions in the food sector in Europe.
Further information: http://www.nimbus.com
RAISIO PLC
Matti Rihko, CEO
Further information:
CEO Matti Rihko, tel. +358 400 830 727
Raisio plc
Raisio plc is an international specialist in plant-based nutrition. Raisio’s operations are divided into two divisions: Brands and Raisioagro. The Group’s key market areas are Finland, Great Britain, the Czech Republic, Russia and Poland. Markets for cholesterol lowering Benecol products are global. Raisio plc’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. In 2015, the Group's net sales totalled EUR 521 million and EBIT was EUR 51.7 million excluding one-off items. The Group employs some 1,500 people. Raisio’s best-known brands are Benecol, Benemilk, Elovena, Fox’s and Poppets. Benemilk feeds for milk production and Benecol for cholesterol lowering are Raisio’s top innovations. For more information on Raisio go to www.raisio.com/en
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Nasdaq
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www.raisio.com