Swiss chocolate giant Barry Callebaut insisted today (13 May) its plan to sell its consumer chocolate division to Spain’s Natra remains on track.
In March, Callebaut signalled its desire to focus on business-to-business chocolate by offloading its consumer chocolate division Stollwerck to Natra.
The two sides have yet to agree on the shape of the transaction, which could take the form of a sale or a merger. Under the initial agreement, Callebaut plans to take a minority stake in Natra.
Final details of the transaction have yet to be signed, including long-term financing, and the deal still needs approval from the boards of both companies.
However, a Callebaut spokesperson said the transaction was in line to be completed “this summer”.
“It’s a rather complex transaction spanning several countries,” the spokesperson told just-food.
The addition of Stollwerck to Natra will create a company with annual sales of around EUR850m (US$1.16bn) on a pro forma basis. The combined businesses would have around 2% of the European cocoa and chocolate market and a pro forma output of 215,000 tonnes.
