Brussels chocolatier Marcolini arrives in South Korea | Economy
South Korean investor MBK acquires Brussels chocolate company Marcolini through a Japanese subsidiary. Maison Pierre Marcolini mentioned this in a press release on Tuesday after business newspapers “De Tijd” and “L’Echo” announced the acquisition.
It looks like the acquisition will help Marcolini accelerate growth, especially in Japan, China and South Korea. The financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.
The British investment fund Neo, which in 2013 paid around 15 million euros for a 47 percent stake in Marcolini, is leaving the Brussels company and will be replaced as the majority shareholder of VM2 Holdings. The previous majority shareholder for the long term was NEO Investment Partners.
Godiva
He will be replaced by VM2 Holdings as the new owner. It is a Japanese company established in 2019, but it is owned by MBK Partners from South Korea. The world of chocolate is certainly no stranger to VM2 Holdings. The company operates the Belgian chocolate brand Godiva in the Japanese, South Korean and Australian markets and has its production center in Brussels.
According to trade papers, founder Pierre Marcolini and former chairman and CEO Olivier Cooney will continue to own a small stake in the company. According to the press, VM2 Holdings is buying two of the four private investors: Laurent Levaux (Aviapartner) and François Schwennicke (formerly Delvaux). This is how MBK and VM2 get the majority of the shares, you can read on.
Founded in 1995, Marcolini has 42 stores in Belgium, France, UK, Monaco, Japan, China and Dubai.
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