Barry Callebaut Closes Transaction with Nestle 

The transaction comprises the takeover from Nestlé of a chocolate factory in Dijon, France and the cocoa liquor and liquid chocolate making facility at Nestlé’s factory in San Sisto, Italy as well as a long-term supply agreement.

02/07/07 Barry Callebaut, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality cocoa and chocolate products, has announced the closing of its transaction with Nestlé. The transaction comprises the takeover from Nestlé of a chocolate factory in Dijon, France and the cocoa liquor and liquid chocolate making facility at Nestlé’s factory in San Sisto, Italy as well as a long-term supply agreement of 43,000 metric tonnes of chocolate products per year to Nestlé in France, Italy and Russia. The transaction increases Barry Callebaut’s production capacity by around 100,000 metric tonnes and allows the company to capture growth opportunities in the fast-growing Mediterranean region.

Patrick De Maeseneire, CEO of Barry Callebaut, said: “The negotiations with Nestlé and with the employee representatives went very well, and all works relating to the transfer have been initiated in due course so that we were ready to take over on July 1. The integration of the newly acquired assets is proceeding as planned, thanks to the good support we have received from Nestlé. The cooperation between the two companies was exemplary. I am very pleased that we have now finalized this agreement, which marks an important step ahead in Barry Callebaut’s strategy to be the outsourcing partner of choice for the chocolate industry.”

The newly acquired production facilities will be integrated into the Barry Callebaut Group as of July Barry Callebaut will start liquid chocolate and consumer product deliveries to Nestlé in the next few months.

Last month Barry Callebaut announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Cadbury Schweppes plc to double its supply volumes of cocoa liquor and liquid chocolate to around 30,000 metric tonnes a year. Barry Callebaut will supply approximately an additional 14,000 tonnes a year of liquid chocolate and cocoa liquor to Cadbury Schweppes’ production facilities in Poland.