PERFETTI VAN MELLE HAS REACHED AN AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE CHUPA CHUPS
Perfetti Van Melle has reached an agreement with Chupa Chups to acquire 100%
of the company. The combination reinforces the leadership position of the
brands Chupa Chups® and SMINT®, with genuine global potential. It also strengthens
the competitive position of the combined company in the increasingly challenging
confectionery sector for the benefit of all stakeholders. Chupa Chups will keep
its head office in Cataluña as well as the main manufacturing facilities
in Spain.
The decision to sell was taken after a long and detailed strategic process. This
resulted in the initiation, a few months ago, of a program to identify the best
alliance partner to improve and consolidate the brands´ presence in certain
specific geographies. After discussions with complementary industry players, Chupa
Chups has selected the Italian-Dutch group, which is already its partner in the
UK and Germany, as the best partner to further its strategic aims, having regard
to the complementarities of the two businesses and the good fit of corporate culture.
With this agreement, the Chupa Chups brands will greatly improve their geographical
footprint, and the company's integration with Perfetti Van Melle will substantially
increase their growth potential. In addition, Chupa Chups will benefit from Perfetti
Van Melle´s strong international distribution platform and its broad and complementary
portfolio of leading brands.
Perfetti Van Melle is a privately owned global company that manufactures and distributes
sugar confectionery and chewing gum products in over 130 countries under highly
renowned brands like Mentos®, Alpenliebe®, Frisk®, Fruittella®,
Golia®, Happydent® and Vivident®. Perfetti Van Melle achieved net sales
of over € 1.4 billion for the year ending December 2005. Perfetti Van Melle
employs some 12,000 people and operates throughout the world with locations in Europe,
Asia-Pacific and the Americas. The Perfetti Van Melle group has corporate headquarters
in Lainate (Italy) and Breda (The Netherlands).
Perfetti Van Melle´s innovative and entrepreneurial culture, similar to that
of Chupa Chups, creates the basis for a successful combination, and this has been
one of the determining factors for the Spanish group to conclude this agreement.
Perfetti acquired Van Melle in 2001, creating one of the largest confectionery companies
in the world. Perfetti´s successful management of the merger and the sensitive
integration of the Dutch and Italian cultures provide an excellent precedent for
a good transition.
Both companies have maintained a business relationship for nearly 10 years, which
has been anchored in two distribution JVs (in Germany and the UK) as well as a distribution
agreement in Poland.
Commenting on the transaction Augusto Perfetti said: "the acquisition of this
prominent group represents a significant reinforcement of our position as a world-class
confectionery company and, in particular, it provides additional diversification
into the candy segment. With our confectionery focus, we expect that the Chupa Chups
brands, well-loved and well-known as quality brands by consumers all over the world,
will further flourish under Perfetti Van Melle's global umbrella. This transaction
will also trigger synergies with our own brands and expand our sales and distribution
potential in mature and developing markets."
For Xavier Bernat, President of Chupa Chups, this transaction "reinforces the
competitiveness of the company and ensures an even brighter future.