June 28/Northfield, Ill./PRNewswire-FirstCall -- Kraft Foods has signed an agreement to sell Cadbury's E. Wedel-branded chocolate and sugar confectionery operations in Poland to Lotte Group for an undisclosed sum. The sale, which is subject to customary regulatory approvals, includes the E. Wedel business, its related brands and a manufacturing facility in Warsaw. Approximately 1,000 Cadbury Wedel employees will transfer to Lotte Group.
Kraft Foods will keep the remaining Cadbury business in Poland, including the Halls brand and other non-E. Wedel-branded chocolate and sugar confectionery products sold in Poland and two manufacturing plants in Skarbimierz. Subject to approval by the European Commission, Kraft Foods will also retain a third Cadbury plant in Bielany Wroclawskie, Poland.
This sale follows the European Commission's decision to approve Kraft Foods' acquisition of Cadbury plc conditioned on the divesture of the Cadbury E. Wedel business in Poland and the Cadbury chocolate confectionery and soft-cake business in Romania. The divestiture of the Romanian business will be the subject of a separate announcement at a later date.
From the July 6, 2010, Prepared Foods E-dition