Finland: Vaasan + Vaasan Closes Kokkola Bakery

Espoo / FI. (vv) Finnish Vaasan + Vaasan Group has announced the closure of its Kokkola bakery unit in Finland. The Kokkola bakery has 34 employees. In a statement, Vaasan + Vaasan said that plans to concentrate its bakery business in the area at Seinäjoki. The company also said that it will launch a new production line there by June 2008, which is expected to create five to seven new jobs. In June, Vaasan + Vaasan’s Lithuanian subsidiary company UAB Vilniaus Duona announced it had started the construction works of a new bakery in the industrial area of Vilnius city, near the Aukstieji Paneriai zone. The Vaasan + Vaasan Group is the leading bakery business in Finland and the Baltic region, and the second-largest Nordic operator in bake-off products. Vaasan + Vaasan is also the second-largest crisp bread producer in the world. The Group consists of Vaasan + Vaasan Oy in Finland, A/S Leibur in Estonia, A/S Hanzas Maiznicas in Latvia, UAB Vilniaus Duona in Lithuania and Nordic Bake Off AB in Sweden. Each Baltic subsidiary is the market leader in its own country, while Nordic Bake Off AB is the second-largest producer of bake-off products in Sweden. In 2006 the Group had a turnover of approximately 334 million Euro and it employed some 3.450 people. Funds advised by CapVest Limited sold the Vaasan + Vaasan Group to an international private equity investment firm, Lion Capital LLP. The acquisition agreement was signed in the end of May this year. The transaction applied to all running Group companies including Vaasan + Vaasan Oy in Finland, its Baltic subsidiaries AS Leibur, A/S Hanzas Maiznicas and UAB Vilniaus Duona, as well as the Swedish subsidiary Nordic Bake Off AB.