Penta’s Carnibona Acquires Kaiser Food Company

Penta continues to increase its share of the Hungarian meat production market with the acquisition of the Kaiser Food Élelmiszer-ipari Company. The acquisition of the 97.3% share was made through Penta portfolio company Debreceni Csoport Húsipari, which in turn, is part of Penta’s Carnibona holding. As a result of the deal, Kaiser brings well-known brand names to an already strong Carnibona group.

Hungarian anti-monopoly regulators must approve the transaction before it is finalized. That approval is expected to be given before year’s end.

Kaiser Food Company (www.kaiser.hu)
The Kaiser Food Company is engaged in the production and distribution of meat products including sausages, hams, smoked meats, spreads, and pates. Two production plants in the Hungarian cities of Mosonmagyarovári and Abda employ roughly 250 people. 2009 profits for the company were approximately €18 million.

Carnibona (www.mecom.sk)
Carnibona is Penta’s holding company for meat production companies in Central Europe. It was formed in 2008 with Penta’s acquisition of Hungary’s Debreceni Group and Slovakia’s Mecom Group. The two were grouped with 2007 acquisition PM Zbrojníky to form Carnibona.

The aim of the holding company is to consolidate a fractured meat production industry within Central Europe. Carnibona reported earnings of €248 million in 2009.

Penta Investments (www.pentainvestments.com)
Founded in 1994 as a securities trading company, Penta Investments provides private equity and real estate investment in Russia and Central and Eastern Europe.

Penta prefers investments in the engineering, entertainment, healthcare, metallurgy, telecom, transportation, retail, and utilities sectors, with an average life of 3 to 5 years. The firm invests via restructuring projects, buyouts, and buy-ins.

Penta manages an evergreen fund from the firm’s five exclusive investors, managing €2.7 billion in total assets among thirty portfolio companies.

On the real estate side, Penta is currently invested in 11 projects. Company headquarters are in Prague; additional offices can be found in Amsterdam, Bratislava, Limassol, and Warsaw.