German confectionery giant Haribo has cleared another hurdle en route to building a manufacturing plant in the US.
It announced plans to acquire a property in Wisconsin to launch what would be its first production site in the US earlier this year and now the terms of the purchase agreement have been approved by the village board of Pleasant Prairie in Kenosha County.
The Bonn-based candy maker can now press ahead with plans to buy a 137-acre parcel from the village for US$21m, with a first payment of $13m due no later than 27 December.
The remaining payment of $7.6m would be due after work on roads, storm water retention ponds and other infrastructure is completed.
The land purchase agreement received unanimous approval of the village board on Monday night (18 December) and followed a closed session in which trustees met with its attorneys who have been negotiating with Haribo.
In March, the company proposed a $242m, 500,000 sq ft facility in the Prairie Highlands Corporate Park. Haribo expects to create 400 jobs with a facility projected to open in 2020.
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By GlobalDataSpeaking at the time, group MD Hans Guido Riegel said the purchase of the site in Kenosha County “is of great importance to the Haribo group”. He added: “Haribo America is the fastest growing confectionery company in the US.”