Italian coffee maker Lavazza sees revenues reaching as much as 1.7 billion euros this year, up nearly 20% on 2015, after the purchase of French brand Carte Noire, it said on Thursday.
The Turin-based group said it had finalized the acquisition of Carte Noire to become the market leader for coffee in France, confirming what sources told Reuters last month.
The deal values Carte Noire at 700-750 million euros. Of this, 400 million euros will be funded through bank financing, with Lavazza's cash covering the rest.
The acquisition represents another step in the group's long-term strategy to compete in a market led by larger rivals such as Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE).
"Our aim is to reach a dimension that allows us to play a key role in the sector," CEO Antonio Baravalle said at an event in Paris, adding the group wanted to increase its annual revenue to 2 billion euros over the next five years.
Lavazza also wants to raise the portion of its foreign sales to 70% of the total from 55% last year.
The group, which ranks seventh among the world's coffee roasters, will continue to look for attractive companies to buy, the CEO said, adding the perfect targets were "local jewels."
Carte Noire was put up for sale in February 2015 by U.S.-based group Mondelez International to soothe European competition concerns after it combined with D.E Master Blenders 1753 to form JDE, the world's biggest standalone coffee group. (Reuters)
Source: www.businessworld.ie
