Israel: Nestle to buy remaining stake in Osem

Swiss FMCG multinational Nestle is to acquire the remaining shares in Israeli food manufacturer Osem in a deal worth about $840 million, according to a Reuters report.

Osem is Israel's third-largest food producer by sales, behind the Strauss Group and market leader Tnuva. The firm produces more than 2,000 different food items in 11 production sites, both for domestic consumption and for export, particularly to European countries and to the United States. The company is active in various areas, including snacks, soups, baked goods, pasta, sauces, instant dishes, baking products, mini croutons, canned goods, ready-made meals and meat substitutes, salads, breakfast cereals, cereal bars, drink concentrates, instant coffee, baby food products, ice creams, chocolate, iced tea and pet food.

Nestle, which previously held a 63.7% stake in Osem, said in a statement that it intended to "continue to partner with Osem management to develop the company".

Osem has a current market value of 7.3 billion ILS  ($1.88 billion) but said that as a result of the deal with Nestle it would now be valued at 9.13 billion ILS ($2.35 billion). In Israel, the firm has around 10% share of the food market.

Source: Reuters / Osem