Bühler Group has announced it has acquired Austrian confectionery machine manufacturer The Haas Group as it aims to complement its consumer foods product portfolio.
As a global leader in the field of production systems for wafers, biscuits and baked goods, Haas has a global workforce of 1,750, manufacturing sites in six countries and sales revenues of around €300 million.
Bühler said the deal will provide its customers new opportunities for diversifying. While both companies operate in the same markets and often serve the same clients, there will be no overlapping of services upon completion of the deal.
Stefan Scheiber, CEO Bühler, believes the two companies are ‘identically positioned as quality providers’ and that they have the same corporate cultures as family-owned businesses that are based on trust and committed to sustainability.
“It is hard to imagine a better basis for successful integration, and we will do everything in our power to generate added value for both our customers and our employees,” he said.
Bühler will make its global network of about 100 service stations accessible to Haas customers, develop complete solutions for the production of wafers, biscuits, and confectionery with chocolate, and integrate Haas into its innovation management network.
Member of The Haas Group Supervisory Board Johann Haas said: “Today’s market and technology trends, whose impact and speed will continue to increase, have prompted us to take this step.”
He continued by saying that the capability of offering complete solutions and of further automating and digitising them will become increasingly important in the future. He believes that this requires a certain corporate size with a strong global presence and the related customer proximity, as well as high capital investment power.
“Bühler offers precisely this environment,” he added. “It is for this reason that we sought exclusive talks with them on the change in ownership, and we are glad to have found a sound and future-oriented solution for all the parties involved.”
The acquisition is subject to the approval of the antitrust authorities. The closing of the transaction is scheduled for the end of 2017 and the two parties have agreed not to disclose any contract details.
Source: FoodBev.com
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