Ad-hoc Meldungen und Investor Relations

Barry Callebaut to acquire American chocolate decorations manufacturer Mona Lisa Food Products, Inc.

Barry Callebaut AG /
Barry Callebaut to acquire American chocolate decorations manufacturer Mona Lisa
Food Products, Inc.
. Processed and transmitted by Thomson Reuters ONE.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Extension of Gourmet & Specialties Products business

* Mona Lisa Food Products, Inc. to strengthen and accelerate the growth of
Barry Callebaut's Gourmet business
* Complementing and extending the company's specialties products portfolio

Zurich/Switzerland, February 10, 2012 - Barry Callebaut, the world's leading
manufacturer of high-quality cocoa and chocolate products, has signed an
agreement to acquire 100% of Mona Lisa Food Products, Inc., a leader in
chocolate decorations products in the U.S.
The currently privately owned company will be integrated into Barry Callebaut's
North American Gourmet & Specialties Products business. The acquisition of Mona
Lisa confirms Barry Callebaut's intention to further accelerate the growth of
its Gourmet & Specialties Products business and to add more adjacent products to
the company's offerings for professional users of chocolate such as
chocolatiers, pastry chefs, bakers and the HORECA business (hotels, restaurants,
catering).

With the acquisition of Mona Lisa Food Products, Barry Callebaut will also
strengthen its global footprint and establish a dedicated foothold for
decorations products in the U.S. The newly acquired company complements the
business activities of Barry Callebaut's center of competence for chocolate
decorations located in Zundert (The Netherlands).

Mona Lisa Food Products, Inc. generated sales revenue approaching CHF 9 million
(EUR 8 million / USD 10 million) in 2011 with around 40 employees. The owner and
President of Mona Lisa Food Products, Inc., Peter Thom, founded the company in
1987 in Salinas, California. Since the start, the company's business has been
steadily expanding and relocated in 1993 from California to Hendersonville,
North Carolina, where it has a single manufacturing facility today. Mona Lisa
Food Products manufactures a variety of chocolate and pastry decoration products
such as cups, curls, spoons, shavings, blossoms, which are distributed all over
the U.S. for the most part, but also shipped worldwide. The company is serving a
wide range of segments in the food industry, including, but not limited to, in-
store bakeries, the HORECA business (hotels, restaurants, catering) and
industrial bakeries.

Peter Thom, President and Owner of Mona Lisa Food Products, Inc., says: "Since
its inception, we have run Mona Lisa as a family business. The growth and
success of our brand has brought us to the time where it is best to hand the
company over to a partner that can continue this success. We believe we have
found that partner in Barry Callebaut and see a continued future of growth and
success."

Juergen B. Steinemann, CEO of Barry Callebaut, says: "The acquisition of Mona
Lisa Food Products, Inc. is another step to broaden our knowledge and to
accelerate the growth of our Gourmet & Specialties Products business. As a part
of Barry Callebaut, the company will strengthen our global market position for
chocolate decorations and serve as our dedicated center of competence in the
U.S."

The transaction is expected to close in March 2012.  The two parties have agreed
not to disclose any financial details of the transaction.

***

Barry Callebaut (www.barry-callebaut.com):
With annual sales of about CHF 4.6 billion (EUR 3.6 billion/USD 5.0 billion) for
fiscal year 2010/11, Zurich-based Barry Callebaut is the world's leading
manufacturer of high-quality cocoa and chocolate - from the cocoa bean to the
finished chocolate product. Barry Callebaut is present in 27 countries, operates
around 40 production facilities and employs a diverse and dedicated workforce of
about 6,000 people. Barry Callebaut serves the entire food industry focusing on
industrial food manufacturers, artisans and professional users of chocolate
(such as chocolatiers, pastry chefs or bakers), the latter with its two global
brands Callebaut(®) and Cacao Barry(®). Barry Callebaut is the global leader in
cocoa and chocolate innovations and provides a comprehensive range of services
in the fields of product development, processing, training and marketing. Cost
leadership is another important reason why global as well as local food
manufacturers work together with Barry Callebaut. Through its broad range of
sustainability initiatives and research activities, the company works with
farmers, farmer organizations and other partners to help ensure future supplies
of cocoa and improve farmer livelihoods.

***

Contacts

for investors and financial analysts: for the media:

Evelyn Nassar Joern Wagenbach

Head of Investor Relations Head Corporate Communications & CSR

Barry Callebaut AG Barry Callebaut AG

Phone: +41 43 204 04 23 Phone: +41 43 204 04 60

evelyn_nassar@barry-callebaut.com joern_wagenbach@barry-callebaut.com



The news release can be downloaded from the following link:


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Barry Callebaut AG
P.O. Box Zurich

WKN: 914661;ISIN: CH0009002962;

Press Release (PDF):
http://hugin.info/100441/R/1584564/495742.pdf




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Source: Barry Callebaut AG via Thomson Reuters ONE

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