PARIS - French cheese producer Bel Group, famous for its La Vache qui rit brand, has started talks with LBO France to buy a majority stake in marmalade maker MON in a drive for leadership in the healthy snacks market.
Bel - which besides soft the soft 'laughing cow' cheese triangles also makes Kiri, Mini Babybel and Leerdammer cheeses - said the acquisition would be financed by its own financial resources, without issuing additional debt.
MOM Group - which owns the Materne marmalade and Pom'Potes and GoGo Squeez fruitdrink brands - employs 1,300 people and owns two production sites in France and two in the United States.
"The perfectly complementary nature of the product ranges is ideal for meeting growing consumer expectations and the nutritional challenges facing many countries," said Antoine Fievet, Bel's chief executive.
Bel said it expected the transaction to be completed by the end of 2016. No financial details were given.
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Bel reported a 2.4 percent fall in second-quarter sales on Monday, weighed by price declines in Europe and lower volumes in the Middle East and Africa, hit by geopolitical conflicts.
Its sales totalled 2.9 billion euros in 2015 and it plans to double its size by 2025.
