Cherkizovo closes acquisition of Pit-Product from Atria

Cherkizovo Group completed the acquisition of Pit Product, a Russian subsidiary of Finnish meat and poultry company Atria Group, the two companies announced on April 30.

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(Natee Meepian | Bigstock.com)
(Natee Meepian | Bigstock.com)

Cherkizovo Group completed the acquisition of Pit-Product, a Russian subsidiary of Finnish meat and poultry company Atria Group, the two companies announced on April 30.

According to a notice from Atria, the sales price was approximately EUR30 million, and the effect of the divested business will amount to about EUR35 million (US$32.2 million) on Atria. The Finland-based company said the Pit-Product had been operating at a loss.

The two companies had earlier announced the planned transaction in February. In March the transaction was approved by the Federal Antimonopoly Service, according to a press release from Cherkizovo.

Included in the acquisition are two meat processing plants with the capacity of 39,000 metric tons of sausages, hot dogs and deli meat. The transaction also included logistics facilities and trademarks, including the Pit-Product name.

“We are happy that two modern plants with such a sizeable market share in (the) St. Petersburg and Leningrad region have been added to the list of the meat processing facilities of Cherkizovo Group. We will continue manufacturing products from the Pit-Product range, which are popular among consumers, and of course, will be using their capacities to produce sausage products under our Cherkizovo, Cherkizovo Premium and Pava-Pava brands,” stated Sergey Mikhailov, CEO of Cherkizovo Group.

Atria had owned Pit-Product since 2005. At the time the companies announced the planned transaction, there were an estimated 700 Pit-Product employees.

The transaction does not include Atria Russia's subsidiary Sibylla Rus LLC, which operates in the fast food business in Russia.

According to the WATT Poultry International Top Companies rankings, Cherkizovo Group is the largest poultry company in Russia and the seventh largest poultry producer in Europe, while Atria is the second largest poultry company in Finland and the 43rd largest poultry producer in Europe.

Both Cherkizovo Group and Atria Group are traded publicly.

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