CEE private equity investor Mid Europa Partners is acquiring a majority stake in Mlinar, the leading bakery retailer in Croatia.
“I look forward to working with Mid Europa as a strong and credible partner with an excellent track record in food production and retail,” commented Mato Škojo, the founder of Mlinar.
“We plan to help the company expand internationally and we look forward to our partnership with Mr Škojo as he continues to support Mlinar’s growth,” added Andrej Babache, a partner of Mid Europa.
Milnar serves pastries, bread, drinks, sandwiches and salads to more than 36 million customers per year through 220 directly-owned stores in Croatia and Slovenia, and franchise stores across 10 countries. Mlinar operates its own state-of-the-art production and logistics and serves leading modern retail chains, as well as hotels and restaurants from its wholesale operations.
“Our investment in Mlinar builds on our strong track record in investing in leading CEE retail and consumer businesses,” said Robert Knorr, co-managing partner of Mid Europa. “On the retail side, we believe Mlinar can benefit from our experience in accelerated store expansion. On the product side, the focus will be on brand equity enhancement and innovation, as successfully implemented in Bambi, our biscuits producer which was recently sold to Coca Cola HBC. We will also look to exploit synergies between Mlinar’s frozen bakery programme and product development initiatives at our Polish market leader in frozen food, Hortex.”
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