The combination of the two businesses makes Barry Callebaut the world's largest cocoa and chocolate manufacturer, fully integrated from bean sourcing to the manufacture of the finest chocolate products. It creates an organization with over 8,000 employees, an estimated annual sales volume of 1.6 million tonnes and CHF 6 billion (EUR 4.9 billion / USD 6.4 billion) in sales revenue, as well as further diversifying Barry Callebaut's global footprint to 50 factories on four continents.

Juergen Steinemann, Barry Callebaut's CEO, said: "The cocoa business we acquired from Petra Foods is right at the core of Barry Callebaut, and we will benefit from the know-how of our 1,800 new, highly motivated colleagues. It will support the further growth of our existing chocolate business. Being now also the largest global supplier of high-quality cocoa products, we will be able to capture opportunities in the fast-growing markets for specialty cocoa powders even better." Looking ahead, Mr. Steinemann added: "We are pleased that with the successful closing of the transaction, we can start to implement what we have prepared in the last six months and focus on the integration process."