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Up to US$30 million lift for yeast makers
EBRD to buy shares in Lesaffre’s Russian and Ukrainian yeast-making subsidiaries
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has signed a share
purchase agreement to acquire equity stakes worth a total of up to $30 million
over time in certain Russian and Ukrainian subsidiaries of France’s Lesaffre &
Cie SA, the world’s leading producer of yeast and the fifth largest producer
of malt.
This will include minority shareholdings in the Russian yeast-making companies
OOO SAF Neva and OAO Kurgandroji and the Ukrainian yeast-making company ZAT
Nadezhda. The Russian and Ukrainian plants are between 40 and 100 years old
and have suffered from underinvestment. Cooperation with Lesaffre, the world’s
market and technology leader in the yeast segment, will enable the EBRD to
participate in modernising, restructuring and upgrading them to improve
quality and environmental standards and allow further development.
At the signing ceremony in London, Mr. Lucien Lesaffre, Chairman of Lesaffre &
Cie S.A., said that the equity financing from the EBRD will take part in the
company’s achieving their strategy to become one of the largest producers of
yeast in CIS markets. He added he greatly values the Bank’s partnership as it
offers Lesaffre comfort when operating in CIS markets. He believes this
partnership may lead to further cooperation in the future in other countries
of operations of the Bank enabling Lesaffre to produce yeast locally.
The EBRD is one of the largest private sector investors in Russia and Ukraine.
Speaking at the signing ceremony in London, Mr. Jean Lemierre, President of
the EBRD, said that the project is part of the Bank’s ongoing commitment to
the region. In the agribusiness sector, the EBRD has signed projects worth a
total of around €1.5 billion, and the Bank plans to commit €400 million this
year in the sector. Mr. Lemierre added that this transaction offers an
important demonstration effect for investments in agricultural processing in
terms of both quality and technology.
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