Eurogerm acquisition enables Spanish expansion
Eurogerm has acquired Spanish counterpart LEAG with the intention
of increasing its presence in Spain and Latin America.
The companies did not disclose the financial terms of the transaction, but Eurogerm has taken over 100 per cent of the LEAG group, which reported revenues of €4.6m in 2006. Eurogerm has established a worldwide customer base, with 40 per cent of its revenue coming from export activities. It already exports to Algeria, Senegal, Mexico, Spain and Andina. Eurogerm Espana and Eurogerm Andina were formed in 2005. A public company that listed on Euronext last April, Eurogerm reported a consolidated turnover of €39m in 2007. Although small in comparison to global company Eurogerm, LEAG is reportedly the leading company in flour correctors and bread improvers in Spain. The acquisition will therefore make Eurogerm Spain's main producer of ingredients for flour and bread. Benoit Huvet, executive vice president, and Jean-Philippe Girard, managing director of Eurogerm said in a statement: "Thanks to the acquisition of the LEAG Group, the leader in its sector in Spain, Eurogerm, which was already operating in Spain under its own brand name, has now become the sector's leader in Spain and is consolidating even further its presence on the South American market. "Eurogerm has all the leverage it needs to accelerate its growth and roll out its cost-effective growth strategy, and has completed a first accretive acquisition that will help to increase value creation for its shareholders." No company executive was available to give FoodNavigator.com more information about plans for the Spanish market, or Eurogerm's overall global strategy. Based in Barcelona, the LEAG group, founded in 1949, is divided into two sections. Laboratorio Ensayos y Analisis Girona (Laboratorio) is responsible for designing and producing bread and flour improvers, while LEAG Girona markets the improvers to the industry. For its part, Eurogerm is equipped with a scientific and educational research institute, Arpeges. It was here, for example, that Eurogerm developed analytical methods such as Chronotec, which helps millers establish flour quality, and the Qualitec, which determines the nutritional value of cereal products. The global bread and rolls market in 2007 was valued at €136bn, up from €109bn in 2002, according to Euromonitor. The value of the bread market in Spain reached €3bn in 2007, with packaged and industrial bread accounting for €542m and unpackaged artisanal bread accounting for €3.5bn. The Latin American bread market valued at €109m in 2007. Packaged and industrial bread accounted for €3bn and unpackaged artisanal bread accounted for €22bn.
