Belgian chocolate and cocoa products firm The Barry Callebaut Group has completed the acquisition of a chocolate production facility from Mondelēz International.
The acquisition of the facility, which is located in Halle, Belgium, was announced in September last year.
As of 1 January 2017, the factory has been integrated into Barry Callebaut’s global manufacturing network.
The company has completed works council consultations and closing conditions in connection with the transaction.
Mondelez’s facility is expected to expand Barry Callebaut’s production capacity for quality Belgian chocolate and fillings.
As part of the transaction, Barry Callebaut has signed an agreement for long-term supply of an additional 30,000 tonnes of liquid chocolate per year to Mondelez.
Under a toll-manufacturing agreement, Barry Callebaut will continue to manufacture some consumer products for Mondelez that are currently produced at the chocolate plant in Halle.
The supply is scheduled to start in early 2017.
However, the financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
The transaction was expected to enable Barry Callebaut to tap more business opportunities in the fast growing segment of specialty chocolate and fillings “Made in Belgium”.
The Zurich-based Barry Callebaut operates over 50 production facilities worldwide and employs a global workforce of more than 9,000 people.
In November last year, Barry Callebaut said that it was expanding production capacity at its American Canyon facility with $20m investment.
The facility expansion is in direct response to the increase in demand for chocolate in the American market, it said.
