Leading European fresh produce company Total Produce has been granted regulatory approval for its proposed purchase of a 50 per cent shareholding in Dutch group Frankort & Koning (F&K), based in Venlo.
The €15m deal is expected to be completed 'in due course' and will see the Ireland-based firm acquire half of the shareholding in F&K's various subsidiaries across the Netherlands, Germany and Poland.
As reported previously, Total Produce is expected to pay an initial cash sum of €6m for the shareholding on completion, with an additional amount not exceeding €9m due to be paid in stages during the coming years, provided certain profit targets are hit.
F&K's existing management team will continue to run the Dutch company, with each of them understood to have entered into a long-term service agreement as part of the deal.
F&K recorded a turnover of €296m for the year ended 31 December 2010, with average profits after tax and minorities standing at €2.7m over the last three financial years. It will have assets of approximately €5.5m at completion.
The acquisition of a share in F&K follows Total Produce's €23m deal back in May 2008 to acquire a 60 per cent stake in two other Dutch companies, Haluco and Nedalpac.
