Bella Bulgaria acquires Creta Farms in Greece
Food processing firm Bella Bulgaria, which is owned by Netherlands-based Impala Invest Group, has announced the acquisition of Creta Farms, a Greek processed meat and dairy processor, for an undisclosed sum.
According to a statement released by Bella, the acquisition came following a decision by a Greek court, which selected the Bulgarian firm as the new owner of the beleaguered Creta Farms, after a procedure in which several candidates competed for the acquisition rights by offering business restructuring plans.
Bella Bulgaria's plan envisages a reduction of Creta Farm's debt by 64%.
Parent company Impala Invest Group said that this is to be the largest foreign investment by a Bulgarian food company adding that the aim is to reposition Creta Farms as a market leader in the near future.
Earlier this year, the Greek competition authority approved a proposed acquisition of sole control of Creta Farms and its subsidiary, Greece's Teto-Farm, by Bella Bulgaria, through the Greece-based subsidiary of the Bulgarian food processing company - Impalla Hellas.
"According to the Decision, the notified transaction does not raise serious doubts as to its compatibility with merger control rules in the relevant markets concerned by the concentration (meat, cold cuts and quick meals)," the Greek anti-trust body said in a notice in April.
The acquisition of Creta Farms follows Bella Bulgaria's 2019 acquisition of Hungary's Marathon Foods for €6.1 million. The Creta purchase forms part of Bella's overall expansion plan in which it is targeting an active presence in food deliveries to Western European markets.
Bella Bulgaria, founded in 1997, has nine factories with a combined output of 350 tonnes of food per day as well as a portfolio of over 200 products. The company has affiliates in Romania and Greece.
Creta Farms owns two production plants - in Rethymno and Krioneri, as well as three storage facilities - in Iraklion, Patras and Thessaloniki.
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