GCB Cocoa Singapore Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Malaysia based company Guan Chong Berhad, has entered into an agreement with the Netherlands’ Schokinag Holding BV to acquire the Dutch company’s entire stake in Germany based Schokinag Holding GmbH for EUR 29.93 m.

The proposed acquisition is part of the group’s global expansion strategy, to expand its presence to Europe and position the group to target new growth opportunities in the world’s largest chocolate consuming market. Through the exercise, the company expands its product range into the downstream industrial chocolate B2B market.

Located in Mannheim/Germany, the industrial chocolate plant of Schokinag Holding GmbH has an annual capacity of 90,000 t, while its cocoa processing plant can grind 7,000 t of cocoa beans into cocoa mass per year. With a grinding capacity of 200,000 t of cocoa beans per year, Guan Chong Berhad is one of Asia’s largest producers of industrial chocolate, cocoa powder and cocoa butter. The holding exports around 90 % of its production volume to more than 60 countries.