Orkla to acquire Norwegian food firm Rieber & Soen

Norwegian industrial conglomerate Orkla has entered into an agreement with the Rieber family to acquire a 90.11% stake in food firm Rieber & Soen, a deal that values the company at NOK6.1bn ($1.03bn) on a debt-free basis.

Orkla, which operates in the branded consumer goods, aluminium solutions and financial investment sectors, noted that the acquisition is part of its strategy to become a pure play branded consumer goods company.

Under the agreement, Orkla will buy the Rieber family’s stake in Rieber & Soen for NOK4.67bn ($788m), which represents a price of NOK66.58 ($11.23) per share.

Orkla CEO Åge Korsvold said through the acquisition of Rieber & Soen, the company will expand its product range and gain strong market positions in new categories.

“The company has strong brands that are an optimal fit for Orkla’s product portfolio as regards categories, production technology and geography,” Korsvold added.

Rieber & Soen, which is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, supplies to grocery stores in Central Europe and Russia.

It owns Nordic condiment firm K-Salat, Norwegian food company Toro, Polish dessert brand Delecta, Russian nuts company Chaka, Czech food manufacturer Vitan, and Danish mustard brand Bähncke, among others.

The company also supplies to the food service sector in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

In 2011, Rieber & Soen posted sales of about NOK4.3bn ($725m), and operating profit before depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of NOK464m ($78.29m).

The transaction, which is subject to approval from the European Commission and Russian competition authorities, is expected to be completed by the end of first quarter of 2013.

Following this, Orkla will buy out minority shareholders of the company at the same price per share, and then will seek to delist Rieber & Soen from the Oslo Stock Exchange.

---

Image: From left to right: Bjarne Rieber Gruppen lawyer and director Øystein Elgan, Rieber family representative Fritz T Rieber, Orkla board chairman Stein Erik Hagen and Orkla president and CEO Åge Korsvold. Photo: Orkla ASA.