Lantmännen: completes Vaasan acquisition

Stockholm / SE. (lg) Lantmännen’s acquisition of the Finnish bakery company Vaasan Oy has been completed. Lantmännen’s and Vaasan’s operations complement each other well and the acquisition increases Lantmännen’s market position within the grain and food chain in the Baltic Sea region. Together with Vaasan, Lantmännen can create an even more competitive company with strong growth opportunities in Northern Europe and other parts of the world. Lantmännen announced the agreement to acquire Finland’s Vaasan Group in January.

Lantmännen’s acquisition of Vaasan has been approved by all competition authorities. Through the acquisition of Vaasan – with strong brands like Bonjour, Finn Crisp and Vaasan – the companies will together take on a leading position in the Baltic Sea region. With the acquisition Lantmännen strengthens its offering in bake-off and expands its product offering by adding several new products within fresh bread – as well as a brand new international crisp bread offering.

«The acquisition of Vaasan is in line with our long-term strategic ambitions to expand our offering and enhance our position in the Baltic Sea region. Vaasan and Lantmännen complement each other well and we will create good potential for expansion, becoming more innovative and quicker in adapting to changing customer needs», says Per Olof Nyman, Group President and CEO, Lantmännen.

The bake-off and fresh bread businesses within Vaasan will become part of Lantmännen Unibake – an international bakery company within the Lantmännen Group, producing frozen and fresh bread for the food service and retail sectors. Vaasan’s crisp bread offering will become part of Lantmännen Cerealia – a company within the Lantmännen Group focusing on grain-based food; flour, breakfast, pasta and ready-to-eat meals.

«We share a passion for food and together we can create better growth opportunities in the Baltic Sea region and in the rest of the world. Now we start the integration of Vaasan to become part of Lantmännen, while at the same time developing new opportunities for employees and leaders», says Werner Devinck, CEO Lantmännen Unibake.

«Vaasan’s crisp bread business fits well within Lantmännen Cerealia’s product offerings. The acquisition provides us with a solid base for expansion in Finland and on selected export markets», says Krister Zackari, CEO Lantmännen Cerealia (Imgage Source: Lantmännen Unibake).