Campina to Acquire Food Ingredient Specialist Satro

The company achieves annual turnover of approximately EUR 110 million. Its core activities are the production and sale of spray dried, agglomerated and mixed (semi) finished products for the food industry and vending segment.

29/11/07 Campina, one of Europe’s leading co-operative dairy companies, aims to acquire the German ingredient specialist Satro GmbH. Campina said that the acquisition will create new growth opportunities for Campina’s Industrial Products group. Satro will enable Campina to strengthen its market position in value added ingredients for the food industry, especially in the German market and the vending segment. The takeover will boost the company’s competencies in supplying blended, agglomerated, tailor-made spray dried products. Pending regulatory approval, Satro will become part of DMV International, a division of Campina’s Industrial Products group, from January 1, 2008. The sale of Satro to Campina is in line with Humana’s strategy of further concentration on consumer products. Humana will deploy the revenues from the sale for investments in consumer products.

Satro GmbH, a subsidiary of the German dairy co-operative Humana Milchunion, is located in Lippstadt, Germany (Federal State of Nordrhein-Westfalen). The company, with around 220 employees, achieves annual turnover of approximately EUR 110 million. Its core activities are the production and sale of spray dried, agglomerated and mixed (semi) finished products for the food industry and vending segment. Major application areas are in the area of dairy and (instant) desserts, bakery instant savory foods, and drinks.

“One of our strategic pillars is international growth with specific dairy related ingredients worldwide. The acquisition of Satro will be a crystal clear example of the road map Campina has charted to further profitable growth for the benefit of the members of our co-operative”, explains J.J.G.M. (Justin) Sanders, CEO of Campina BV. “This acquisition will increase the scale of operations and enable DMV International to become more competitive and profitable in the relevant segments of the food industry. Satro and DMV International have complementary strengths which will allow the new combination to be not only bigger but also better. DMV’s competencies in R&D and its broad geographical sales network will help accelerate growth. Satro will therefore provide an extremely useful growth injection for our Industrial Products group.”

“This acquisition will enable us to realize growth in new and existing markets”, says F.M.W. (Frans) Visser, Managing Director of Campina’s Industrial Products group. “I’m proud that DMV International can become the new home of Satro’s renowned specialists. We would like to add their customer orientation, flexibility and passion for food ingredients to the expertise of DMV International. The combined range of activities and focused innovation programs will boost our competitive power. We strongly believe that the new combination will lead to above-market growth rates. The new combination will allow us to better cope with the increasing price and competitive pressure, while serving our customers even better.”

The proposed sale of Satro GmbH to Campina represents a major new step in the restructuring programme of Humana Milchunion Unternehmensgruppe, based in Everswinkel (Federal State of Nordrhein-Westfalen). As announced earlier this year, Humana is to concentrate further on its core activities. “With Campina as the new owner, we are placing our subsidiary Satro in good hands and taking an important new step in our restructuring operation. After the sale, Humana will have a stronger strategic focus, with better financial figures,” says Albert Grosse Frie, CEO of Humana.

Parties have agreed not to release the sales price for Satro GmbH. Campina has informed its employees, the works councils, and the regulatory authorities of the intended acquisition. When and if applicable, they will be involved in the process.