SWITZERLAND – The HOCHDORF Group, the producer of natural ingredients such as milk, wheat germ and oil seeds, is parting company with HOCHDORF Baltic Milk UAB.
The HOCHDORF Baltic Milk UAB milk plant, which is being taken over by an investment group, was the HOCHDORF Group’s first milk plant in the European Union. The sale will take place retroactively to the end of May.
The plant was taken over in stages, starting from 1.1.2010.
The majority shareholding in Uckermärker Milch GmbH in Prenzlau (Germany) by the end of 2014 meant that HOCHDORF had a holding in a second milk processing plant in the EU, which is on an entirely different level in terms of technology and volume.
Sale to investment group
Current low protein prices on the international market along with high milk prices caused by agricultural policies in Lithuania led to HOCHDORF carrying out a thorough reappraisal of the plant.
The plant was purchased in 2010 due to the need for a production site in the EU area and to create synergies in the area of milk proteins.
The development of the HOCHDORF Group in recent years, including various additional acquisitions and shareholdings in the EU area, mean that the strategic benefit of the plant in Lithuania is significantly diminished.
The sale of the plant to a Lithuanian investment group signalled parting of the ways for HOCHDORF Holding Ltd and HOCHDORF Baltic Milk UAB.
The sale will take place retroactively to the end of May 2018 and is the first step towards reorganising and strengthening HOCHDORF’s Dairy Ingredients Division.
This transaction involves an EBIT liability of around US$3.22 million and a total of around US$6.23 million net profits.
The contract partners have agreed not to disclose the acquisition price.
