CHARALAMBIDES Dairies yesterday officially announced its takeover by the Greek company Delta in what it said was the biggest-ever investment by a firm from an EU country in the food industry in Cyprus.
“This has never happened before,” Antonis Charalambides told the Cyprus Mail. “They are very interested in the Cyprus market because of the island’s imminent accession to the EU.”
Delta, which is also affiliated with French dairy giant Danone, on Thursday informed the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) that its subsidiary Delta Protypos Viomihania Galaktos S.A. has signed an agreement to acquire 61 per cent of the share capital of Cypriot dairy group Charalambides.
The announcement said Delta’s aim in acquiring Charalambides was to gain a foothold on the Cypriot market and to create co-operation agreements in the region. Emporiki Capital, the subsidiary of Commercial Bank SA, will also participate in the deal by acquiring a stake of 19 per cent, while the remaining 20 per cent of the capital will remain in the hands of the Charalambides family.
“Charalambides is going to remain an independent company but of course will have to give word to the parent company,” Charalambides said. “We as a family are going be remain as shareholders in the company. not only shareholders but managers as well.”
He said the Charalambides brand would also remain intact, but added it was too early to say whether Delta would shift the manufacturing of its products to Cyprus through Charalambides or whether the Greek company would use the Cypriot firm as its distributor in Cyprus.
Delta already has a small foothold in the Cyprus market through sales of its ice cream, yoghurt and juices, which are currently distributed by Stephanides.
A spokesman for Stephanides said yesterday he didn’t wish to comment on the Charalambides takeover just yet.
Charalambides, which was founded in 1945, says it holds a 55 per cent share in the dairy products market in Cyprus with its products on sale in 4,000 outlets islandwide. In 2001 the company reported revenues of £17.5 million and pre-tax profits of £1.85 million.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
