Cargill is to acquire German chocolate manufacturer Schwartauer Werke Kakao Verarbeitung Berlin (KVB), as part of the company’s plans to expand further into Europe.

KVB is a business to business (B2B) supplier of chocolate and semi finished cocoa products. KVB has two production plants, both in Berlin, Germany. The two plants have a capacity of over 75,000 tonnes of chocolate per year and employ around 180 people. Cargill said that KVB’s two Berlin plants will complement its existing German cocoa and chocolate facilities in Klein Schierstedt and Hamburg. Cargill has been active in Germany since 1955 and has around 1,600 employees in 12 locations in the country.

Jos de Loor, head of Cargill’s cocoa and chocolate business, in a statement, said: “We plan to invest significantly in KVB’s facilities to create a superior chocolate house that will enable us to offer customers greater choice, higher quality and extended market reach.”

Upon completion of the deal, after clearance from the regulatory authorities, KVB and its employees will become part of Cargill's global network of cocoa and chocolate businesses.