Meinl-daughter offers a perspective for Salzburg chocolate with Graf Isola
Mozartkugeln
The entry of an investor is becoming apparent for the insolvent confectionery manufacturer Salzburg Schokolade. Meinl subsidiary Heidi Chocolat announced that she would buy the company. This means that around 130 jobs in Grödig could be retained.
However, it remains to be seen whether the US food giant Mondelez International will approve the acquisition by Heidi Chocolat and a group of investors around Julius Meinl V. The group holds the trademark rights to the ‘Echte Salzburger Mozartkugel’ from Mirabell. This produces Salzburg chocolate exclusively for the confectionery giant from Illinois. The products of the traditional company also include the brands Bobby Schokoriegel, Maria Theresia-Taler and Salzburg Confisérie.
Heidi Chocolat currently employs 160 people and has a turnover of almost 20 million euros. With the purchase of Salzburg Schokolade, the number of employees would almost double. A takeover in this matter would not be a novelty for the company. In 2013, Heidi Chocolat took over the local Swedish bomb manufacturer Niemetz, which was on the verge of extinction at the time.
Mondelez emerged from the then US food company Kraft Foods in autumn 2012 and bundled its activities outside of North America. In 2020, the company had sales of 26.6 billion US dollars (equivalent to around 23.6 billion euros) and an operating profit of 3.9 billion dollars (3.5 billion euros). The listed company puts the number of employees worldwide at around 80,000.
Consultant Heidi Chocolat
Count Isola (Graz): Dr. Alexander Isola, Stefan Weileder – known from the market
Adviser to Mondelez International
DLA Piper Weiss-Tessbach (Vienna): Andreas Daxberger – known from the market
Trustee
Lirk play books Hirtzberger (Salzburg): Dr. Johannes Hirtzberger
Debtor representative
Ebner Aichinger Guggenberger (Salzburg): Dr. Walter Aichinger (bankruptcy law)
Background: Salzburg Chocolate would otherwise file for insolvency itself. In this step, the confectionery manufacturer Partner Aichinger from the respected law firm Ebner Aichinger Guggenberger, which specializes in insolvency law, among other things, advised.
Heidi Chocolat mandated Count Isola to acquire the company from bankruptcy. The Graz practice around Isola and Weiler is an institution in this area. Based on this strength, she also advises on crisis-ridden M&A matters, most recently for example the Hamburg-based private equity fund HIH, which was considering buying ATB Spielberg out of insolvency.
Mondelez is one of the clients that DLA Piper advises worldwide. The Vienna office is currently mandated in connection with the bankruptcy of Salzburg Schokolade and its consequences. It is also known that the law firm has been responsible for matters relating to sales antitrust law for several years.