Guylian acquired by Lotte
The Belgian premium boxed chocolate company Guylian has reached an agreement to partner with South Korean Lotte Confectionery. Guylian will benefit from Lotte’s strong distribution in the fast growing Asian confectionery markets and additional resources to further strengthen the network of Guylian Belgian Chocolate Cafes.
The acquisition of Guylian will diversify Lotte’s existing confectionery business on a product, channel and geographic basis and will be Lotte’s gateway into the European markets together with the recently announced investment in Russia.
Lotte will, through a subsidiary, acquire 100% of the shares of Chocolaterie Guylian and of all of its subsidiaries for an undisclosed sum though Guylian will continue under the existing management team.
“The partnership with Lotte is in line with our strategy to make the next quantum leap in the confectionery industry and to take full advantage of the potential of the everyday confectionery market and the fast growing Asian markets,” comments Guylian managing director, Carl Krefting.
Sang-Hoo Kim, president of Lotte Confectionery, adds: “Our acquisition of Guylian makes our entry into the European premium chocolate market and is an important milestone in Lotte’s development as a truly global group.”
Lotte Confectionery is a member of Lotte Group, the fifth largest diversified business group in Korea. Originally established as a confectionery company in Japan, Lotte has currently 44 subsidiaries with total group assets of €31 billion and net revenue of €23 billion in 2007.
