Continental Bakeries to acquire Gillebagaren, Sweden

Continental Bakeries B.V. has reached an agreement with the shareholders of Gillebagaren, Valora Holding AG, to acquire Gillebagaren AB.

Continental Bakeries is a leading player in the European private label biscuits market with a top three position in most of the segments it operates in. The company has 10 factories in Europe and specialises in the design, production and distribution of private label biscuits, bread substitutes and toast. The group’s sales amounted to c. 250 million euro in 2007. It has sales operations in Germany, Austria, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium and France.

Gillebagaren is a Swedish manufacturer of high-quality oat-based biscuits, traditional non oat-based biscuits, gingerbread and pastries, sold both under the Gille brand and under private label. The company operates two factories in Sweden and its total sales amount to over SEK 370 million (c. 40 million euro) in 2007.

The transaction is subject to approval of the Bundeskartellamt, the German Federal authority regulating competition issues.