Bimbosan manufacturer to be saved by sale
Published: Wednesday, Sep 18th 2024, 04:40
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The crisis-stricken milk processor Hochdorf is to save its operating business by selling it. Today, Wednesday, the shareholders will decide whether the milk powder and infant formula production business will be sold to the Swiss-British private equity firm AS Equity Partners, as proposed by the Board of Directors.
Hochdorf Holding has bundled its operating business, which includes the Bimbosan brand, into the subsidiary Hochdorf Swiss Nutrition (HSN). AS Equity Partners is offering 83 million Swiss francs for this. If the sale goes through, production and over 300 jobs could be secured.
However, shareholders are likely to lose their investments, as the purchase price is not enough to reduce the entire mountain of debt. Nevertheless, the Board of Directors considers there to be no alternative to the sale to AS Equity Partners.
The Hochdorf Board of Directors rejected an offer from the Italian food group Newlat. Hochdorf's major shareholder had already tried in vain in May to fill the Board of Directors with its own people.
After the sale, the existing team around company boss Ralph Siegl will manage HSN. They want to continue producing baby food and products such as milk protein powder, whey powder and fat powder and expand their market share.
Siegl has headed the company since 2022. He was supposed to get Hochdorf back on track. The company ran into difficulties when it acquired the baby food marketer Pharmalys in 2016 and sold it again at a lower price in 2019. This was compounded by a failed expansion into China.
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