Italian dairy group Granarolo has emerged as the buyer of Emmi‘s 24% stake in local cheese specialist Venchiaredo.
Emmi revealed plans to sell the stake in July but did not announce which business would be buying the shares, saying only Granarolo would be taking on the selling of Venchiaredo’s products.
A spokesperson for Emmi told just-food today (25 September) the articles of association at Venchiaredo meant the Italian firm’s other shareholders have the right of first refusal “in the event of a purchase offer by a third party”.
She added: “Therefore, the shares first had to be offered to the other shareholders of the company before the sale to Granarolo could be carried out.”
Emmi, which acquired the holding in 2010, is looking to focus its Italian business on desserts, cheese exports from Switzerland and its 25% stake in cheese trader Ambrosi.
In January, Emmi struck a deal to buy Italian dessert manufacturer Italian Fresh Foods for an undisclosed sum. IFF generates sales of almost EUR20m (US$23.7m), 85% of which comes from outside Italy. In 2014, Emmi offloaded Italian yogurt arm Trentinalatte to investment fund The Livia Group.
