9 September 2008 - Leading malt producer Malteurop group has acquired Russia's Belgorsolod, a subsidiary of the Ochakovo group. The Russian company will renamed Malteurop Russia.
This latest acquisition comes a month after Malteurop bought ADM's malting unit. Both acquisitions are seen to further strengthens Malteurop's position as the world’s leading malt producer, the group said.
Malteurop MD Alain Le Floch commented: "This acquisition of a modern unit in Russia gives Malteurop a presence on the largest beer market in Europe. It confirms our strategy of development in a region that is undergoing strong growth, and strengthens Malteurop's position as the benchmark supplier to the major brewing groups."
Indeed, thanks to the Belgorsolod deal, Malteurop is now present in the world’s three leading beer markets, which are Europe, Asia, and North America. The group also has production units on four continents (Europe, North America, Oceania, and Asia).
Belgorsolod, located in Belgorod near the Ukrainian border, operates a malting plant with a production capacity of 100,000 tons of malt. Belgorsolod supplies Russia's major brewers.
"Malteurop intends to regularly strengthen its industrial base and its access to malting-barley growing areas in order to better accompany its brewer customers on all the major malt markets," added Le Floch.
The deal also seems to end the last year's speculation concerning expansion in Ukraine. In August 2007, Malteurop was rumoured to be considering a 30 million euro plant in the Vinnitsya region.
However, a company spokesperson told FLEXNEWS that: "Malteurop Group is a multinational company and is considering and analyzing many opportunities worldwide to extend capacities and obviously Ukraine could be one option for it"
Malteurop is the world's largest malt producer, with a yearly production capacity of 2.2 million tons of finished product per year.
Malteurop Group is a subsidiary of Champagne Céréales, a French farmer co-operative, which has nearly 9,000 members and 1,500 employees. Champagne Céréales is the first European cereals co-operative and consolidates 81 companies in 17 countries.