Press

AGRANA, Vienna, and Butler Capital Partners, Paris, today signed the agreement for AGRANA’s gradual takeover of the ATYS Group, which is domiciled in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Paris, and is the world leader in fruit preparations for use by the processing industries.  The takeover is still subject to approval by the competition regulators.  Once the appropriate permission has been granted, AGRANA will be taking over the ATYS Group in four stages to be completed by the end of 2006.

The ATYS Group boasts annual turnover of about € 400 million.  It has 1,900 year-round employees and 650 temporary staff working in 20 factories in 16 countries spread across all five continents.  The group’s production sites are located in countries that offer both supplies of raw materials (fruit) and opportunities to sell to the processing industries.  The ATYS Group’s key markets are the EU, the USA, Mexico and Australia.

By investing in the ATYS Group – after having already acquired Vallø Saft and a stake in Steirerobst – AGRANA is taking another important step forward in the expansion of its fruit operations to create a third core business segment alongside sugar and starch.