Vivartia’s “marriage” with “Dodoni” is expected to be completed before the end of the year, as the procedures for the former’s acquisition of the remaining 25% of the continental dairy industry are in full swing. A “marriage” that will mean the coexistence – but not the merger into a common corporate structure – under the “umbrella” of Vivartia, “Dodoni” and “DELTA Foods” and above all the expansion of the group in the category of top Greek cheese from a sales and export perspective, which is none other than feta, a category in which “Dodoni” has a leading position. It is also recalled that a strong export pillar of “Dodoni” is halloumi, with the company having a production factory in Cyprus since 2016. On the other hand, “Dodoni” belonging to a business group with a strong presence in the food and catering sector and with the funds of the CVC fund can further develop its sales inside and outside Greece.
According to secure information from “Kathimerini”, the approval from the banks for the financing of the relevant 25% acquisition agreement is in the final stretch. The change of ownership regime is already causing changes in the board of directors of “Dodoni”. A few days ago, Alexander Orlov and Dmitry Razorenov, representatives of SI Foods, which had acquired “Dodoni” in 2012 and is currently a minority shareholder, resigned from its board of directors. Thus, now the board of directors of “Dodoni” has five members, as the resigned members were not replaced. In fact, according to reliable information, these will not be the only administrative changes in the company, as others are expected in the context of the change of ownership.
It is recalled that two years ago the CVC fund, through the company Venetiko Holdings, acquired 75% of “Dodoni”, however, there have been no administrative changes to date, nor have the expected synergies been developed. In the summer, however, the merger of Vivartia with Venetiko Holdings was completed, with the absorption of the latter by the former.
In 2012 “Dodoni” came under the control of the SI Foods scheme (a joint venture of Strategic Initiatives and Simos Foods) acquiring 67.77% of the company that belonged to the Agricultural Bank. In 2022, the consolidated turnover of “Dodoni” amounted to 149.93 million euros, recording an increase of 6% compared to 2021, with the company showing reduced operating profits due to the increase in the price of milk, but also due to expenses that related to the reorganization of the company. In 2023 “Dodoni” further expanded its activities through the launch of two new production units, one for hard cheeses and one for plant-based products.
Vivartia on the other hand, after its acquisition by CVC, is in a phase of continuous reorganization in order to become the big, powerful group of the food and catering industry again. In 2022, the relaunch of Everest took place, the return of Goody’s to Cyprus, while DELTA, for its part, recently proceeded with the acquisition of Cold Sin, with which it returns to the ice cream activity – for the time being only commercial. Moreover, discussions are ongoing for the acquisition by “Barba Stathis” of two more companies.
Source kathimerini.gr
