EU regulators okay Barry Callebaut to buy Petra Foods cocoa unit
07/06/2013 10:45
BRUSSELS, June 7 (Reuters) - EU regulators gave the green light on Friday for Swiss chocolate maker Barry Callebaut BARN.S to buy the cocoa business of Singaporean group Petra Foods PEFO.SI . The EU's executive Commission found that the market would still face sufficient competition after the two firms merged. "In the markets for the production and sale of semi-finished cocoa products, the parties' activities focus on different regions, since Petra Foods is mainly active in Asia," the Commission said in a statement. The Swiss-based firm is the world's biggest maker of finished chocolate products for clients such as Nestle NESN.VX and Hershey HSY.N , and buys roughly 650,000 tonnes of cocoa annually around the globe. The $950 million acquisition of Petra Food's cocoa business should raise that number to roughly 1 million tonnes, and give Barry Callebaut access to high-growth emerging markets. [ID: nL5E8NC2T2] (Reporting by Ethan Bilby) ((ethan.bilby@thomsonreuters.com; +32 2287 6812; Reuters Messaging: ethan.bilby.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: BARRYCALLEBAUT PETRAFOODS/EU