PARIS, France – In a press conference in Paris, Lavazza announced on Thursday the acquisition from Koninklijke Douwe Egberts B.V. of Carte Noire, the leading brand in the French coffee market.
The deal was signed on February 29th after approval by the French Antitrust Authority and the European Union.
It values Carte Noire at 700-750 million euros. Of this, 400 million euros will be funded through bank financing (involving Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, Coöperatieve Rabobank, Intesa Sanpaolo e Unicredit), with Lavazza’s cash covering the rest.
The acquisition encompasses Carte Noire’s brands and operations in the European Economic Area (EEA) including roast and ground, pods and Nespresso-compatible capsules, as well as the French company’s plant in Lavérune, near Montpellier.
In 2015 the group’s turnover increased 8.1% surpassing 1.4 billion. In 2016 it expects to reach 1.7 billion.
This acquisition represents another step in the group’s long-term strategy to compete in a market led by larger rivals such as Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE).
For the historic company from Turin, France becomes the second country after Italy.
“Our aim is to reach a dimension that allows us to play a key role in the sector,” CEO Antonio Baravalle said at an event in Paris, adding the group wanted to increase its annual revenue to 2 billion euros over the next five years.
Lavazza also wants to raise the portion of its foreign sales to 70 percent of the total from 55 percent last year.
The group, which ranks seventh among the world’s coffee roasters, will continue to look for attractive companies to buy, the CEO said, adding the perfect targets were “local jewels”.
“The acquisition of Carte Noir by Lavazza links two companies that share a similar history, image, culture and quality”, remarked Baravalle.
“At the same time, the complementarity of the different consumer segments which places Lavazza as one of the leading brands in France for consumption outside of home, while Carte Noir leads in domestic consumption, opens the door to great potential for development”.
“We want to continue to invest in growth” added Baravalle.
The Lavazza executive also recalled “the profound modernisation of our industrial sites” and ”the significant investment in marketing, comunication and innovation”.
Equally significant is “the realisation of the new business hub in Turin” and ”the commitment of the company as a whole – he concluded – goes beyond one billion Euros”.
Carte Noire was put up for sale in February 2015 by U.S.-based group Mondelez International to soothe European competition concerns after it combined with D.E Master Blenders 1753 to form JDE, the world’s biggest standalone coffee group.
