Final Agreement Signed on Nordzucker's Danisco Sugar Acquisition
With this acquisition, Nordzucker is strengthening its position as Europe's second largest sugar producer on a long-term basis and is expanding its presence through the addition of an attractive and directly adjacent market with some 30 million inhabitants.
23/02/09 Nordzucker and Danisco A/S have signed a final agreement concerning the acquisition of Danisco's sugar division, Danisco Sugar A/S. As already indicated on February 18, 2009, at the request of Nordzucker both parties have together analyzed again certain key financial data relating to the transaction, comparing this data with the agreement originally reached on July 14, 2008; following this, changes have been made.
The final purchase price for Danisco Sugar now is € 730 million (previously € 750 million).
Nordzucker's CEO Hans-Gerd Birlenberg expressed his satisfaction with this final agreement: "The key financial figures which have now been finalized for the acquisition of Danisco Sugar take due account of all the underlying conditions which in our opinion are of relevance. I am delighted that the necessary foundations are now all in place, so that Nordzucker can proceed to actively shape its future together with Danisco Sugar."
With this acquisition, Nordzucker is strengthening its position as Europe's second largest sugar producer on a long-term basis and is expanding its presence through the addition of an attractive and directly adjacent market with some 30 million inhabitants.
The legal and formal date for the closing of the transaction will be March 2, 2009, shortly after which Nordzucker will be providing the public with detailed information about all the main aspects of the transaction and about its further plans, particularly those relating to Danisco Sugar.
Danisco CEO Tom Knutzen said that Danisco will be using about DKK 510 million (EUR 68 million), previously about DKK 360 million (EUR 48 million), for a loan to Nordzucker carrying an annual interest rate of 4% and falling due on 15 March 2011.
Last week Royal Cosun paved the way for the deal by acquiring the Danisco Sugar facility in Anklam (northeast Germany). The German competition authority approved the transaction. The acquisition concerns an independent company with its own sugar quota, customer base, sugar factory and related bio-ethanol production plant. The acquired company will post net turnover of about € 120 million in the current financial year. It has a sugar quota of 112,000 tonnes and a workforce of about 130. It also produces about 500,000 hectolitres of bio-ethanol from sugar beet. The German operations of Danisco Sugar had to be sold in order to have the transaction approved by the German competition authority.
