Sardus combines Charkdelikatesser and Pastejköket

The Sardus food-products group, which is traded on the A-List of the Stockholm Stock Exchange, is planning to combine the Pastejköket and Charkdelikatesser business units. Merging the two units will form a larger and much stronger supplier of processed meat products to the convenience store trade. Charkdelikatesser's President Pelle Hjalmarsson is proposed to head the new business unit, which will be designated Sardus Chark & Deli.

The planned new unit will have annual sales of about SEK 900 M, corresponding to half of Sardus' total sales, and some 400 employees. Charkdelikatesser's and Pastejköket's products include liver paste, smoked sausage toppings and ham, jellied veal and black pudding. The background to the plans for merging is a combination of the convenience food chains increasingly demanding larger and more complete suppliers and that price competition has intensified as a result of a number of low-price players having entered the trade. "In addition to becoming stronger on the market after merging Pastejköket and Charksdelikatesser, we can become more cost-efficient as a result of substantial possibilities for coordination gains," says Ragnar Bringert, President of Sardus. "Our long-term goal is an annual net savings of SEK 5-10 M." "Pastejköket and Charkdelikatesser have many well-known brands and market-leading products. Through the added strength inherent in the planned merger, we expect to be able to create more scope to support and develop these product groups and to further be able to focus on development of new products and packagings," says Pelle Hjalmarsson. Statutory negotiations regarding the merger will be initiated immediately with the affected trade unions. Just prior to Christmas, Sardus acquired the sandwich companies Allt Smörgas in Stockholm and Smörgasfabriken in Norrköping. As announced previously, these companies will form the base of the new Sardus Light Meals business unit, with Pastejköket's current President Mats Johansson as manager. The Sardus Light Meals business unit will acquire and develop additional businesses that produce finished meals that are easy to prepare and ready to eat. Helsingborg January 18, 2005 AB SARDUS (publ.) Ragnar Bringert President For information: Ragnar Bringert +46 (0) 42-37 02 50 Pelle Hjalmarsson +46 (0) 70-875 18 51