Olam International has bought East African coffee specialist, Schluter, at an enterprise value of US$7.5 million.

OLAM International has bought East African coffee specialist, Schluter, at an enterprise value of US$7.5 million.

Established in 1858, the independent Switzerland-based coffee company specialises in trading East African speciality and premium Arabica coffees.

Managing director and CEO of Olam Coffee, Vivek Verma, said: "Schluter is clearly a strong fit into our strategy for three key reasons. Our entry into the European speciality coffee market will complement our expanding speciality coffee presence in the US; Schluter will also deepen our origination expertise in East Africa; and their focus on building sustainable supply chains with smallholders is strongly aligned to our core purpose of growing responsibly."

The acquisition is funded by a mix of internal accruals and existing debt facilities.

Schluter's managing director Philip Schluter added: "As a combined business, I am confident we will be able to serve our customers and partners in many ways better than before."

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Following the acquisition, Schluter will become the speciality arm of Olam Coffee in Europe.