Russian juice and yoghurt maker Wimm-Bill-Dann has announced the acquisition of 75 per cent of Kharkovsky Dairy Plant in Ukraine for $4.5 million (€4.55m).
Wimm-Bill-Dann (WBD), which says it has 30 per cent of the Russian market for juice and yoghurt, now has 18 processing plants in the CIS.
"The Kharkovsky dairy plant is a strong player on the Ukrainian market with a stable supply of raw materials, significant market share and well known brands," Maxim Byrdin, head of Wimm-Bill-Dann's dairy business unit said in a statement.
Kharkovsky produces 2,500 tonnes a month of dairy products, including the popular "Domashny" cottage cheese, and held 8.7 per cent of the Ukrainian dairy market under ROMOL brand name, the statement said.
Wimm-Bill-Dann products are household names in Russia.
The company said in June its 2001 net income rose 49 per cent to $31.8 million.
It has said $108 million of that total will be used to buy new factories and modernise old ones.