Bernard Matthews has sold its German subsidiary, Bernard Matthews Oldenburg (BMO) to German turkey, chicken and pork producer, Sprehe Gruppe.
According to Bernard Matthews it has exchanged contracts with Union Holdings & co KG, which holds all the activities of the Sprehe Gruppe, for the sale of its 100% interest in BMO.
BMO is a wholly independent operation serving the German market with turkey and chicken products under the BM Oldenburg brand, with reported sales of €45 million per annum.
A statement from Bernard Matthews said: “The BMO business has flourished in the last few years but has also grown more independent of the UK Bernard Matthews business. It made strategic sense both for the UK group and for BMO to find a new owner who could bring the resource and strength in the German market that could exploit fully the BMO brand and operations.
“The proceeds from the sale will reduce group debt by €14 million. We are very pleased that Sprehe Gruppe has bought the business and are sure the business and all of its people will prosper in this new ownership.”
Alan Jamieson, chairman of Bernard Matthews, added: “The sale of this non-core business releases capital that will be useful to the UK operation as we continue to rebuild profitability and to invest in the UK’s leading turkey producer and only significant independent poultry brand.
“We look forward to a very busy Christmas as we put the turkey on more than three million of the nation’s tables.”
Completion of the sale is subject to clearance by the German antitrust authorities and is anticipated to take place in August.
Sprehe Group, which was founded in 1987 and is owned by Albert and Paul Sprehe, produces chicken, turkey and pork on multiple sites in Germany.
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
