FrieslandCampina to Acquire Olam's Dairy Business in Côte d’Ivoire

01 Sep 2014 --- Royal FrieslandCampina and Olam International Limited have signed an agreement regarding the acquisition of Olam’s dairy business and its dairy production facility in Côte d’Ivoire. The acquisition will increase the presence of FrieslandCampina in the West African country, where it is already marketing its brand Bonnet Rouge. The product portfolio comprises sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk.

The production facility is located in Abidjan, the primary economic center of Côte d’Ivoire. The production facility in Abidjan processes local fresh milk and milk powder into sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk which are sold on the local market under the brand name ‘Pearl’. The production facility employs approximately 80 people.

Cees ‘t Hart, CEO of Royal FrieslandCampina N.V.: “We are pleased with this acquisition in Côte d’Ivoire. It enables us to further strengthen our position in West-Africa.”

Both parties expect the deal to be completed in the next few months. The dairy business and production facility will become part of the FrieslandCampina Europe, Middle East & Africa business group.

The disposal of the dairy plant is part of Olam’s restructuring of its Dairy Products portfolio to focus on other upstream and midstream parts of its dairy business. The dairy plant, which produces sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk for local consumers, was set up in 2011. Olam expects to book total cash inflow of US$25.0 million and a one-time pre-tax gain of approximately US$10.0 million upon completion of the transaction in Q2 FY2015.