Russia's largest dairy and juice group, Wimm-Bill-Dann has said that it has bought 100 per cent of ZAO Sibirsky Syr, otherwise known as Siberian Cheese, in the city of Novosibirsk.
The purchase price was agreed at $2.6 million (€2.4m).
Wimm-Bill-Dann said the main benefit of Sibirsky Syr to the company is its 1,900 square metres of warehouses and 5,500 square metres of refrigerators, which are easily accessible by road and rail and situated next to Wimm-Bill-Dann's principal Siberian milk-producing facility, OAO Sibirskoe Moloko.
"The acquisition will greatly improve the logistical base for Sibirskoe Moloko, by enhancing Wimm-Bill-Dann's distribution capability and providing the company with a solid base to keep up with anticipated growth in the key Siberian marketplace," stated a company spokesman.
Presently the company is undergoing an aggressive period of expansion in both the snack foods and dairy snacks, in line with growing sales volumes and profits. In the last few months the company has acquired a milk powder factory in the Ukraine, warehouse and logistics facilities near Moscow and the production base of a leading juice maker in central Russia.
Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods is an established household name in Russia where it is the market leader in the dairy and juice segments in Russia. The company grew from a leased production line at the Lianozovsky Dairy Plant in 1992 to a publicly listed food conglomerate, employing more than 15,000 people with 20 manufacturing facilities in 16 locations in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).