Hungary's Fornetti sold to Swiss firm

Hungarian frozen bakery products company Fornetti has been bought by Switzerland’s Aryzta for an undisclosed sum, the financial website portfolio.hu reported former Fornetti managing director József Szabó as saying. The decision to sell was taken because Fornetti has reached the limits of its growth potential, Szabó said.

In order for the company to
reach the next level and become a significant player internationally, the
involvement of an experienced professional partner with a stable financial
background was inevitable, according to founder and owner József Palásti, who
will help Aryzta develop the Hungarian brand as a consultant and brand
ambassador.

Aryzta, the third largest maker of frozen bakery products in
the world and the owner of 60 bakery brands on four continents, plans to invest
EUR 1 million in Fornetti before the end of the year and will hire new
employees, Sebastian Gooding, Fornetti’s new managing director, said.

Portfolio.hu reminds that Fornetti employs 800 people in Hungary and a further 500
abroad. It had revenue of nearly HUF 20 billion last year and sold 32,000 tons of
bakery products.