Barry Callebaut, Zurich, Switzerland, has successfully closed the acquisition of the Cocoa Ingredients Division from Singapore-based Petra Foods Ltd. as planned on June 30, 2013, following approval from the regulatory authorities. The combination of the two businesses makes Barry Callebaut the world’s largest cocoa and chocolate manufacturer, fully integrated from bean sourcing to the manufacturing of chocolate products. It creates an organization with over 8,000 employees, an estimated annual sales volume of 1.6 million tonnes and CHF 6 billion (EUR 4.9 billion / USD 6.4 billion) in sales revenue, as well as further diversifying Barry Callebaut’s global footprint to 50 factories on four continents.
 
Juergen Steinemann, Barry Callebaut’s CEO said, “The cocoa business we acquired from Petra Foods is right at the core of Barry Callebaut, and we will benefit from the know-how of our 1,800 new, highly motivated colleagues. It will support the further growth of our existing chocolate business. Being now also the largest global supplier of high-quality cocoa products, we will be able to capture opportunities in the fast-growing markets for specialty cocoa powders even better.”
 
Looking ahead, Mr. Steinemann added, “We are pleased that with the successful closing of the transaction, we can start to implement what we have prepared in the last six months and focus on the integration process.”
 
Since the signing of the transaction on December 12, 2012, a joint integration taskforce has developed a master plan to integrate Petra Foods’ Cocoa Ingredients Division into Barry Callebaut. The implementation of the integration starts immediately and is expected to take 12 to 18 months. Barry Callebaut will maintain its regional structure — including Region Europe (Western Europe and EEMEA), Region Americas and Region Asia-Pacific — and continue to run its cocoa business (now called “Global Cocoa”) globally. The newly acquired business will be integrated into Global Cocoa.
 
Based on adjustments for working capital and other items, the purchase price for Petra Foods’ Cocoa Ingredients Division will be approximately USD 860 million, subject to final adjustments following the closing.