Buy-side advisory to Bel in its acquisition of Kars Karper

The French Bel Group, the producer of La Vache Qui Rit, acquired 51 percent of Karper, the first producer of melted triangle cheese in Turkey.

Karper, identified with its triangle shaped spreadable cheese, is one of the leading dairy companies in Turkey. Established in Istanbul in 1964, Kars Karper has an annual production capacity of 6 thousand tons. Currently, 160 people work in the company. It has a very strong consumer base, especially in Istanbul and its region. Today, it produces in its modern facilities established on a closed area of ​​11 thousand square meters on a land of 80,000 square meters in Çorlu.

Bel Group, which had a turnover of 2 billion Euros as of the end of 2004. 1.3 billion Euros of this comes from 120 countries other than France. It has approximately 20 national and international brands. Some brands of French Bel are: La Vache Qui Rit, Leerdammer, Apericube, Mini Babybel, Kiri.Bel Group is known in the Turkish market with its Kiri and La Vache Qui Rit brands.

This is the first ever M&A transaction in Turkish dairy.