After a six month long bidding war, Pioneers Holding’s sealed bid of US$9.36 per share for 60.2% of Egyptian cheesemaker Arab Dairy has been approved by the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority, beating the US$9.34 per share bid submitted by Lactalis subsidiary Al-Nour. This per share price translates to a total cost of US$33.5 million.
Pioneers already owns 16% in Arab Dairy, and upon completion of this deal, which is expected to be accepted by Arab Dairy within the week, its stake in the company will climb to 76.2%.
Arab Dairy is best known for its Panda cheese brand, and controls the seventh largest share in the Egyptian cheese market, worth US$843.9 million according to Euromonitor.
Upon completion of the acquisition, Pioneers plans to focus investment into the company’s business development, human development, market share, and possibly product quality, depending upon the results of internal operations reports.
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