Bega Cheese to acquire Mondelez grocery business in Australia and New Zealand

Global snacking company Mondelez International has entered an agreement with Bega Cheese to sell most of its grocery business in Australia and New Zealand for A$460m ($347m).

According to the agreement, Bega Cheese will acquire a number of well-established grocery brands from Mondelez.

The company added that divesting these products would enable them to further focus on its portfolio and invest in its core snacks categories and Power Brands, including Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate and Oreo biscuits.

Bega Cheese executive chairman Barry Irvin said: “We believe these iconic brands alongside the Bega Cheese brand are strong building blocks to enable Bega Cheese to become a great FMCG business.

“We feel privileged to be taking on the responsibility and guardianship of one of Australia’s most loved brands, VEGEMITE, and look forward to working with the people at 1 Vegemite Way in Port Melbourne to continue the legacy of this great company.”

According to the deal, the Mondelez International Port Melbourne manufacturing site will be transferred to Bega, and nearly 200 Mondelez employees will be offered roles on comparable terms.

Bega will also receive a license to the Dairylea brand for use in Australia and New Zealand. The transaction is expected to close in the coming months.

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Image: Piece of cheese. Photo: courtesy of Suat Eman via freedigitalphotos.net.