March 4, 2014  

After a 10-year partnership with HKScan Group, Danish Crown is paying €180 million (US$247 million) for the remaining 50% shares to take full control of Sokolow, the leading Polish producer of processed meat products.

The acquisition of the remaining shares in Sokolow is completely in line with Danish Crown's strategy of investing in processing activities. Danish Crown is Europe's leading business within processed meat products via its DC Foods division. This position will be further strengthened through the full ownership of Sokolow. Sokolow has posted impressive results for a number of years, and in Poland the company is known as the Coca-Cola of the meat industry. The company's main strength is within the production of sausages, cold cuts and other processed meat products, but it is also the largest cattle slaughterhouse business in Poland, and the third-largest pig slaughterhouse business.

"The company is an incredibly strong player in the domestic market, where Sokolow is without doubt the strongest brand and the biggest player within highly processed meat products. At the same time, the focus on quality is beginning to pay off outside Poland, and in a relatively short space of time, Sokolow has succeeded in building substantial exports, explains Flemming Enevoldsen, chief executive officer of DC Foods, Danish Crown's processing division.

Sokolow has approximately 6,500 employees at seven factories. The company posted revenue of DKK5.5 billion (US$1 billion) in 2013. Over the past 10 years, continuous investments have been made, and the past three years have seen the establishment of both a new cold cuts facility and a new cattle slaughterhouse.

The takeover is awaiting the approval of the competition authorities.