Italy: Casalasco to acquire 70% of De Martino to expand Asian presence

Italian tomato producer Casalasco has signed an agreement to acquire 70% of De Martino, a trading company specialised in distributing Italian canned food over the world.

De Martino has built an export network with major players in Japan, South East Asia and Scandinavia, and generates approximately €40 million ($43 million) from tomato-based canned food distribution.

The agreement, which follows Caslasco’s 2022 acquisition of Emiliana Conserve, will allow the company to export around 70% of its production in Europe, mainly in the UK, Germany, and, France. Additionally, the firm has plans to use the deal to expand its presence in the Far East, northern Europe and Japan.

“Thanks to this operation, we are determined to strengthen our presence in markets which are strategic to us and add value to products tagged as Made in Italy”, said Calasco CEO Costantino Vaia. “Working in partnership with experienced and qualified partners like De Martino will allow us to have an immediate impact on those geographical areas to generate production volume and profitability in the short term”.

Source: La Stampa