Italian Rice giant Euricom acquires Polish snack maker Sonko
ITALY – Italian rice and pulses business Euricom has acquired Polish snacks company Sonko, strengthening its presence in the healthy snacks market across Europe.
For an undisclosed fee, Euricom purchased the entire share capital of the Wroclaw-based Sonko from functional sports beverage maker Oshee Polska.
Euricom, led by chairman Bruno Sempio, said it will invest further in Sonko’s facilities and brand to continue developing the company’s leading snack product offering.
The rice major has identified healthy snacks as a key category for pan-European expansion and believes the acquisition is synergistic with its existing rice business.
“Through our longstanding relationship with Sonko we have witnessed how the firm has developed the leading brand in the market through an attractive product offering centred around snacks,” said Sempio.
“We welcome the Sonko team and look forward to continuing this effort further with the full support of the Euricom group. This synergistic transaction will help us achieve our target revenues of €1bn (US$1.1bn) in the near term.”
Sonko, which has been present in Poland since 1989, produces a range of healthy snacks, including rice cakes, chickpea chips, chocolate crispbreads, and rice and groats.
The company employs around 300 people and has a nationwide sales and distribution team across its two manufacturing facilities.
Dariusz Gałęzewski, chairman of Oshee Polska, commented: “During the five years that Sonko was part of the Oshee Group, we accomplished most of our objectives. Even during the challenging period of Covid-19, Sonko and its key products demonstrated their resilience.”
Oshee is now focusing on its core beverage business and plans to acquire in Western Europe to strengthen its position and drive expansion in that market.
The acquisition comes after Japanese conglomerate Mitsui Co. bought a stake in Euricom for around ¥200bn (US$143.3m) last year, giving the Italian rice company an enterprise value of €500m(US$557m).
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