Spanish dairy group Capsa Food has acquired an additional 20% stake in local cheese maker Innolact, becoming the company’s majority shareholder.
Financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed.
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The latest deal follows Capsa’s initial investment in July when it acquired a 40% stake in the Galicia-based cheese maker. At that time, the remaining 60% was held by the company’s founding partners.
Despite the change in ownership structure, the owner of the Quescrem brand will continue to operate under its current management, led by co-founder Sergio Martínez, reported Spanish daily La Voz de Galicia.
In a LinkedIn post on 10 April, Capsa said the transaction marked “one more step in our strategy of growth and strengthening in the sector to boost our cheese business”.
Founded in 2006 as a spin-off by researchers from the University of Santiago de Compostela, Innolact supplies cream cheese, mascarpone and other dairy products to 45 countries across five continents.
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By GlobalDataIn 2023, Innolact generated a turnover of €25m ($27.2m). In 2022, the last year in which Capsa – which counts the Central Lechera Asturiana co-op as its major shareholder – disclosed its revenue, it stood at €895m, up 18% on a year earlier.
Net profit, however, dropped 73% to €5.1m, a decline that Capsa Food put down to inflation-linked higher ingredients costs and the war in Ukraine.
Capsa’s increased investment in Innolact comes as the Asturias-based company has set a target of reaching “€1bn in annual turnover”.
The Spanish dairy group currently employs over 1,400 people across its eight production plants across Spain.
In January last year, Capsa took full ownership of Lácteas Flor de Burgos, having first acquired a 50% stake in the business in 2020.
The remaining stake was acquired from Lactan Holding Group for an undisclosed sum and gave Capsa Food control of a seventh factory, located in Burgos, Castilla Leon.
