VION to Sell Oerlemans Foods to Baltussen

VION N.V. announced that it has entered into an agreement for the intended sale of its company Oerlemans Foods to Baltussen Holding B.V. The latter will be supported by its strategic partner Rijko B.V. Baltussen specialises in the production and processing of fresh vegetables, Rijko in the sourcing of these raw materials.

14 Jan 2013 --- Oerlemans Foods is a manufacturer of fresh frozen vegetables, fruit and potato products. The sale is a consequence of the revised strategy VION announced on 15 June 2012 which entails various measures and investments being implemented and made in an accelerated, more vigorous manner. VION companies that are no longer part of the company's core activities are to be divested. Oerlemans Foods occupied an independent position within the VION Group. In this context, VION already announced the sale of Banner Pharmacaps on 29 October 2012. The sale is not expected to affect labour opportunity at Oerlemans Foods. Advice has been requested from the Oerlemans Works Council concerning the intended sale. The transaction is also subject to the approval of the authorised competition authorities in Poland and the Ukraine.

Oerlemans Foods is a specialised manufacturer and supplier of fresh frozen vegetables, fruit and potato products. With a range of over 1,000 products and the brands Oerlemans, Keizer, Bio+ and Bauer, Oerlemans Foods focuses on the international foodservice, retail and industrial markets. The head office is located in Venlo NL and the company has production plants in the Netherlands and Poland. Oerlemans Foods employs 740 staff.

Last November, VION NV has announced that it has embarked on a process to sell its UK food businesses to concentrate on its core markets in the Netherlands and Germany and the development of its global ingredients business.

The new strategy means that VION will be divesting all its food activities in the UK and a number of non-core activities, including Banner Pharmacaps (divestment announced on 29 October 2012) and Oerlemans Foods (frozen vegetable and potato products). The decision to create a smaller VION, with increased strategic and geographic focus, follows the strategic reorientation implemented earlier this year, the results of which were announced on 15 June 2012. This new course is also aligned with the announcement made on 4 September 2012 that the company would be implementing the strategy.