Re Joint Venture
30 October 2003 - 6:00PM
UK Regulatory
RNS Number:4492R
PZ CUSSONS PLC
30 October 2003
Stock Exchange Announcement
Glanbia plc and PZ Cussons plc announce
a $20 million joint venture in Africa.
Glanbia plc and PZ Cussons plc announce that they have formed a 50/50 joint
venture company to build a new $20 million facility in Nigeria to supply
Evaporated Milk and Milk Powder to the local Nigerian market.
The initial investment, which will be funded equally by the parties, will build
a new factory that will further process powdered milk sourced primarily from
Ireland, for the Nigerian market. The factory will be capable of handling 35,000
tonnes of milk products per annum and will be commissioned in early 2005.
Glanbia plc will have full responsibility for operations while PZ Cussons plc
will be responsible for the marketing and distribution of the product stream
through its existing Nigerian subsidiary.
Commenting on the announcement, John Moloney, Group Managing Director, Glanbia
plc said, "This project continues the implementation of Glanbia's growth
strategy and offers a relatively low risk entry into a significant growth
market. It also provides an opportunity to add value to our Irish milk
processing operations by accessing new markets. We look forward to working
closely with PZ Cussons who have 100 years of experience of operating in Nigeria
and considerable marketing, sales and distribution capabilities throughout
Africa and the Far East."
Nigel Green, Chief Executive of PZ Cussons plc added "We are delighted to have
joined forces with Glanbia in this project and look forward to developing our
relationship in the future to maximise market opportunities."
ENDS
30 October 2003
Additional information
Glanbia plc is an international cheese, nutritional ingredients and consumer
foods company with operations in the USA, Ireland and the UK. It is one of
Europe's largest dairy companies and one of the world's largest cheese
manufacturers. It is a global player in advanced technology dairy-based
nutritional ingredients. Headquartered in Kilkenny, Ireland, the Group had sales
in 2002 of Euro2.3 billion.
PZ Cussons plc is an international manufacturing Group specialising in personal
cleansing, and is probably best known for its brand Imperial Leather. It has
over 100 years experience of operating in Nigeria, where it manufactures a wide
range of products, has a workforce of 6,000 people and a strong distribution
network giving access to all regions of the country. It also has a successful
history of selling imported evaporated milk. Headquartered in Manchester, United
Kingdom, the Group had sales in 2003 of #466 million.
Enquiries to:
Glanbia : Ireland : Michael Patten, Director of Communications
(Int'l +353 -(0)56-7772200 / (0)87-2414502 or mpatten@glanbia.ie)
UK: John Olsen / Tom Leatherbarrow, Hogarth PR
(Tel: 44 - 207- 6453959)
PZ Cussons: Graham Calder, Finance Director
(Tel: 44 - 161- 491 8000)
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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