January 20 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian producer and distributor of organic products Smart Organic [BUL:SO] said on Thursday it acquired 100% interest in the Netherlands-based bio food distributor Amigos International Trade for an undisclosed sum.
Smart Organic intends to expand the market for Amigos' bio arenga palm sugar brand Red Ape, through its wide client network across Europe, as well as to benefit from the acquired company's business relations in the Netherlands and Belgium by offering its own products on those markets, the Bulgarian company said in a bourse filing.
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Smart Organic noted that the transaction does not substitute for the acquisition of an unnamed Germany-based competitor which was expected to take place at the end of last year. Talks with the target company are continuing, Smart Organic said.
Smart Organic is considering other acquisition options and is currently in the initial stages of negotiations with another German company, which is strategically more attractive. The new target company is significantly larger and if the negotiations lead to a deal, the transaction will require additional financing with own funds, the organic products maker said in the bourse filing.
According to the statement, Smart Organic will also transfer the distribution of its brands Kookie Cat and Roobar from its current distributor to Amigos, which will allow the company to be more competitive on the local market. The buyer added that Amigos International Trade recorded 140,000 euro ($158,700) in revenues in 2020.
The planned acquisition of the German peer will be financed with proceeds from Smart Organic's initial public offering (IPO) held on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange in November, in which the company raised some 5.9 million levs ($3.4 million/3 million euro).
Smart Organic's consolidated sales revenue grew 36.7% on the year in the last quarter of 2021, to 13.4 million levs, the company said earlier this week.
As at 14:15 CET on Thursday, shares in Smart Organic traded 0.54% higher at 18.70 levs on the Sofia bourse.
Smart Organic was founded in Sofia in 2009 and is currently among the leading producers and distributors of organic food in Europe. Through its network of distributors and retailers, the company's products are available in more than 60 countries worldwide - in the EU, as well as in Asia and the Americas, according to information published on Smart Organic's website.
The company is making most of its products at its own factory in Sofia which spreads on over 6,000 sq.m.
($ = 0.8819 euro)