For Lactalis recipe should add $ 3.5 bi in the country

The operation that will emerge from the Union between the LBR-Brazil Dairy and dairy division of the BRF, both newly acquired by French for Lactalis, is expected to generate annualized gross revenues of r $ 3.5 billion, estimates people familiar with transactions. The number also includes the business of Balqis, was bought by the French company in August last year. All purchases were made through the Italian Parmalat S.pA, which has traded on the Milan Stock Exchange, and is controlled by for Lactalis since July of 2011.
The three combined operations must have about 6 thousand employees, according to preliminary estimates from the same sources. Still projections vary because there is no way of knowing exactly how many employees for Lactalis will inherit, especially in the case of the acquisition of the assets of the dairy BRF. This is because, in practice, the dairy operation did not exist separately in BRF. So part of the employees, such as sales areas, for example, also met other threads. Searched for Lactalis, the preferred not to answer the request for an interview.
With the two recent acquisitions, which need to be approved by the Administrative Council for economic Defense (Cade), the for Lactalis will reach 17 dairy units in Brazil-already has two on the purchase of the Balqis. The company, owner of the traditional butter Président, will also have in its portfolio brands such as Parmalat, Good cream and DaMatta, Poços de Caldas, Batavo and Elect. It is expected to have about 15 thousand milk vendors in nine States have dairy units for production of UHT milk, chilled, cheese and curd.
The for Lactalis should spend $ 2,050 billion in two recent acquisitions, r $ 1.8 billion for dairy assets of the BRF and r $ 250 million by the units and brands of the LBR. In practice, in this latter case, the assessment is that the market for Lactalis paid to anticipate the resumption of the Parmalat brand in Brazil. The brand, which it owns, was in use by the LBR under license until 2017. For Lactalis's condition to acquire the assets of LBR, within the process of reorganization of the Brazilian company, was that the contract was scrapped.
The next steps of for Lactalis in Brazil will be undoubtedly challenging. Yesterday, the company filed in Cade the application for Act of concentration related to acquisition of the assets of the LBR. You will need to do the same with the assets of milk purchased from the BRF. After the approval of the antitrust body for both operations, for Lactalis shall initiate the process of integration of the businesses. A job certainly complex.
The expectation, according to sources close to the company, is that this task and the administration of the businesses stay in charge of French executives. Brazilians working in two operations today must also participate in a transition Committee during integration.
Was this the model largely from acquisitions of for Lactalis, a movement that gained strength in the enterprise from the years 2000, when Emmanuel Besnier, grandson of the founder of the dairy company, took over the business after the death of his father Michel Besnier. Since then, the company based in Laval in Western France-made about 26 acquisitions-without considering the assets of LBR and BRF-, that led to a turnover of € 16 billion in 2013 and a global uptake of 14.6 billion liters of milk.
Discreet, Emmanuel Besnier, who has 43 years and took over the company for 29 years, followed closely the transactions for purchase of assets in Brazil. The Chief Executive Officer and owner of for Lactalis visited various units of the BRF and the LBR in recent months.
According to the story, it came to visit up to eight factories in just three days, in paths made of plane, or after long miles on roads. Also visited supermarkets in the cities where he spent. "It's a normal human being," described a person with whom he had contact in recent visits. "Ate up baloney sandwich", guaranteed.
Called "invisible billionaire", "King of cheese" and "Emperor of milk" by the French press, Emmanuel Besnier has modes for someone surprising Spartans with such wealth-according to Forbes, his fortune is $ 7.5 billion. This personal characteristic is reflected in how to manage the business, according to those who know him.
One of the visits to units, Besnier didn't hide that considered luxury, something that wouldn't account for a dairy industry, in your vision. Not for nothing, the company must choose how the headquarters office where work today the administrative area the LBR, a sober building in São Paulo. Now, the expectation is that in Brazil implement its Besnier management model, which has a focus on adding value to products and gives priority to direct purchase of milk producers in order to ensure the quality of the raw material. In France, the for Lactalis, which until 1999 was named Société Besnier Laitière, is known as the company that managed to transform artisanal cheeses such as camembert, in larger scale commercial products.
The last movements of for Lactalis in Brazil were seen positively even by competitors, which consider the plant your foot on the country, the French appreciate the dairy sector. Besides stimulating competition and the quest for efficiency, the acquisitions of for Lactalis-for amounts considered high by industry sources-too valorizariam dairy assets in the country.
Despite the ambitious steps to for Lactalis comes along, the truth is that being a dairy giant only became a real possibility after buying control of Italian Parmalat, in 2011.
In a way, the for Lactalis ended up being impelled to seek control of Parmalat. In March 2011, reached a 29% stake in the capital of the Italian company, then managed by Enrico Bondi, who had assumed as Intervenor after Parmalat broke in December 2003. At the time, the French company said it intended to increase that slice-as the Italian stock market rules, the shareholder is obliged to make offer for the entire company to slice spending of 30%.
But the participation of 29% already accounted for the fact that control for Lactalis Italian group, which generated negative reactions in Italy. Supported by the country's Government, banks and the Italian Tanks attempted to form an Alliance to contain the advance of for Lactalis. In addition, the Italian Government adopted a decree anti-OPA (takeover bid), as part of a series of reforms intended to protect Italian companies from unwanted takeovers. The reforms included the postponement of a meeting of shareholders of Parmalat, in which for Lactalis intended to elect a majority of the members of the Board of Directors of Parmalat.
Contrary to expectations and in a reaction to the strategy of the Italians, for Lactalis announced a takeover of shares of Parmalat. In July 2011, at the closing of the offer, hit 83.3% of the Italian capital.