Expansion of market position into Eastern European salt market
esco – european salt company GmbH & Co. KG, a 100 % subsidiary of K+S Aktiengesellschaft, is taking over the Czech salt processing company Solné Mlýny a.s. (SMO). esco is acquiring SMO from the Czech trading group EQUUS, which has been undergoing insolvency proceedings since mid-2010. SMO is a major supplier of salt products in the Czech Republic and also works other European markets. The purchase price is in the mid-single-digit million euro range. SMO has been operating the salt processing business in the eastern Czech city of Olomouc since 1921 and currently employs approximately 70 people. Particularly in the table salt segment, the company has a brand which is well known nationwide and enjoys a high level of recognition, and is established in the market with a wide product range of food-grade, industrial and de-icing salts. In a normal year, SMO sells around 100 000 t of its various salt products and has until now been one of esco‘s customers in the important Czech market.