The Belgian food group Vandemoortele announced an agreement for the takeover of the margarine and fats division from the Dutch company Van Dijk Food Solutions. Vandemoortele would pay about 70 million euros to conclude the deal. ‘Because Bencis Capital, the private equity group controlling Van Dijk since 2008, opts to focus on the sauces division only, the margarine and fats division was set for sale. An excellent opportunity for us to consolidate our position in The Netherlands, as 80 percent of Van Dijk’s margarine and fats unit’s turnover, totalling 138 million euros, is realised in The Netherlands’, Dirk Durez of Vandemoortele Group explains. With a cumulated of almost 600 million euros, Vandemoortele’s fats division now will become as important as the group’s deepfreeze bakery products division again. The bakery division in 2008 took a giant leap forward with the acquisition of the French Panavi company, but that particular deal had severe financial consequences, which eventually resulted in the ‘forced’ sale of the soy division Alpro and the participation in the group’s capital by the GIMV XL fund. The present agreement however would mean that Vandemoortele’s finances are in good shape again.
