The investment firm plans to grow Mlinar’s bakery presence in the Balkans and expand its global wholesale business
Mlinar currently operates five production facilities and over 250 bakeries and bakery-cafés in Croatia | Photo credit: Mlinar
Croatian investment firm Bosqar has acquired a 67% stake in bakery-café chain Mlinar for €100m ($104m).
In a press release, Bosqar said it will support Mlinar’s regional growth and scale its export footprint.
Founded in 1903, Mlinar now operates five production facilities and over 250 bakeries and bakery-cafés in Croatia, serving coffee from Slovenia’s Barcaffe. Mlinar also operates a network of more than 20 outlets across Slovenia and a further 20 in Serbia, where it operated since its August 2020 acquisition of local bakery chain Hleb & Kifle.
Alongside its retail sites, Mlinar also exports bakery products to 20 international markets, including Romania, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and South Korea.
The acquisition sees UK-based private equity firm MidEuropa Partners move from a majority to minority stakeholder in Zagreb-based Mlinar, which it took control of in June 2019.
“We’re extremely pleased with what we have achieved with MidEuropa’s backing and would like to thank them for their continued support. Empowered by this investment from Bosqar Invest and its partners, Mlinar will be in an ideal position to realise its ambitions when it comes to regional and international markets, expanding its footprint and its services to become a leading regional fresh food producer, distributor, and convenience retail chain,” said Mladen Veber, President of the Management Board, Mlinar Group.
In a press release, MidEuropa said Mlinar’s revenues nearly doubled under its majority ownership, with its footprint in the Balkans region growing by nearly 100 stores during the period. Mlinar achieved 18% year-on-year revenue growth in 2023 to reach €163m ($170m), with EBITDA rising 33% to €26.3m ($27.4m).
Bosqar’s only previous food industry acquisition saw the investment firm take a 51% stake in Slovenian food company Panvita Group.