The investment firm, NPM Capital, intends to sell its HAK vegetable plant to the KDV Group. Both parties have signed a preliminary purchase agreement. That’s according to a HAK press release.
KDV will be a new strategic shareholder. With that, HAK wants to rapidly expand its plant-based products strategy in Europe. For the KDV group, HAK is the starting point. That’s for its further internationalization and diversification into plant-based foods.
Timo Hoogeboom, HAK’s CEO
The KDV Group is an international food producer. It’s active in the entire food chain. That includes cultivation and raw material processing and production. They also sell and distribute hundreds of brands. More than 250,000 sales points stock these items. These sales points are mainly in Eastern Europe, Russia, and China.
The group has farms, factories, and a very dense distribution network. Over the past 25 years, KDV has become a major food products player, particularly chocolate, cookies, and snacks. It currently has branches in 13 countries and sells products in 35 countries. The group employs more than 20,000 people.
HAK will soon have a new strategic shareholder. That will allow them to further expands internationally. They want to start in Germany. This vegetable plant has had an organization there since 2017. It’s also been growing in double digits there year on year.
Denis Shtengelov founded the KDV group. Over the past 25 years, he’s built it from the ground up. Acquiring HAK is the group’s entry into the Western European market. It’s also part of the company’s diversification and international expansion plan. “We want to establish a new division in addition to our existing operation. It will focus on plant-based foods. That’s in line with the global trend towards healthier, more sustainable diets,” he says.
“HAK isn’t only our springboard in Europe. It also has a strong mission-driven strategy. That links to the new meals and eating occasions of tomorrow’s consumers. It already serves a home market of 100 million consumers. These are mainly in Northwest Europe. Along with management, I want to realize the first growth acceleration there.”
Timo Hoogeboom, HAK’s CEO, adds, “It became known that NPM Capital was looking for a buyer. The starting point was that the new shareholder would support us. That’s in our strategy, plant-based mission, and Green Kitchen principles. Our discussions with KDV have confirmed this. It’s become clear that HAK will continue to operate autonomously. And that, together with KDV, we can strengthen our international market position. We can also accelerate our mission to get people to eat more vegetables and pulses.”
“We’ll begin plotting out our mutual growth plans after the summer. One thing’s for sure – we’ll be even more driven in pursuing our course,” concludes Timo. NPM Capital and KDV didn’t disclose the transaction’s financial details. The proposed acquisition still has to pass HAK’s mutual business council’s advisory process.
For more information:
Frank Witte
HAK
Tel: +31 (0) 204 525 225
Email: f.witte@creativevenue.nl
Website: www.hak.nl