Lavazza bought out Carte Noire

Lengthy negotiations and preparations in early February 2016 led to the fact that the deal was nevertheless closed, and one of the largest French coffee companies transferred its rights to the Italian owner Luigi Lavazza S.p.A.

I must say that the Italian brand Luigi Lavazza S.p.A at the time of purchase was already one of the largest representatives of the coffee industry and ranked seventh in the ranking of the leading coffee brands. Lavazza coffee is well known not only in Italy but also abroad since 1895.

The sale of the legendary Carte Noir brand became known in February 2015. The company was put up for auction by the American group Mondelez International. According to the official version, the reason for abandoning the brand was the need to comply with European competition laws. Earlier, a large entrepreneur from the United States carried out a business combination in the coffee segment (with D.E Master Blenders 1753 B.V.), after which he came to the attention of the European regulator.

Six months after the start of the auction, Lavazza came up with an offer to buy the brand. And, it should be noted that together with the brand, the Italian coffee maker received a full-fledged and efficient business with offices in 31 European countries. Lavazza added new workshops for roasting beans and making compatible capsules for Nespresso to the existing coffee plants.

According to most financial observers, the purchase of a new brand is a serious step that can well strengthen the position of the Italian company and make the manufacturer of lavazza coffee a leader in the French coffee market. France is currently the second largest European coffee market for Lavazza and ranks fourth in the ranking of global trading floors, while Italy only accounts for fifth in Europe. The event is also significant because this is the first acquisition by Italian companies in the past few years. Before that, Italian brands, on the contrary, were easy targets for American and European concerns.

The new acquisition cost Lavazza 750 million euros, 400 million of which were received from banks Sanpaolo, UniCredit, BNL-BNP Paribas, Rabobank. However, according to rough estimates, in the first year this will increase income by at least 20% and receive about 1.7 billion euros (about 2 billion dollars). The share of Carte Noire in the domestic market of the country is 20%. Thanks to this, the Italian brand plans to increase its overseas sales from 55 to 70%.

In turn, the CEO of Lavazza, Antonio Baravalle, does not intend to be satisfied with what has already been achieved and announced his desire to take a leading position in the coffee production segment and increase profits to 2 billion euros per year. "Our goal is to reach the state where we will play a key role in this sector," - quotes the words of Baravalle edition of RBC.

The history of Lavazza coffee began with a small grocery store in Turin, which by the middle of the 20th century had grown to the size of a joint stock company with an authorized capital of 1.5 million lire. Today the Lavazza company is the largest coffee producer in the world and ranks seventh in terms of sales volume among the world's suppliers of coffee products. Until now, Lavazza remains a family business and is engaged in the export of coffee beans from different parts of the world. From African Uganda to Mexico in the west and Vietnam in the east.

Lavazza bought out Carte Noire