Emmi divests 80% stake in Spanish goat cheese business

Swiss cheese and dairy company Emmi has offloaded its 80% stake in Spanish goat cheese manufacturer Lácteos Caprinos to Lácteas García Baquero.

Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed by the companies.

Based in Jaén, Lácteos Caprinos specialises in the production of goat’s milk products.

The divesture is said to be part of Emmi’s strategy to focus on growth and margin delivering international business.

With a workforce of approximately 40 full-time-employees, the Spanish goat cheese maker generates annual sales of around €10m ($12.2m).

According to the agreement, all the employees will transition to Lácteas García Baquero, and the business will continue to operate under the Lácteos Caprinos brand.

Lácteos Caprinos’ new owner has been active in the cheese business for a long time and has a complementary product portfolio and distribution network.

In August 2017, Emmi sold its 24% stake in Italian fresh cheese company Venchiaredo. With this divestment, Emmi intends to focus on its Italy-based dessert business and cheese exports from Switzerland, as well as its 25% stake in cheese trader Ambrosi.

Venchiaredo offers a wide range of dairy products such as mozzarella, stracchino, mascarpone, ricotta and butter, as well as generates around two-thirds of its sales in Italy.

In January 2010, Emmi acquired a 10% stake in Venchiaredo, as well as took over the sale of its products.

The former later increased its stake to 24% in 2012 to participate in Italy’s growing fresh cheese market and generate synergies associated with fresh products from its yoghurt manufacturing business Trentinalatte.