Cherkizovo Group to engage in swine genetics work and artificial selection

Orenburg, Russia – October 27 – Cherkizovo Group (MOEX: GCHE) has agreed to acquire Vishnevsky Genetics and Breeding Center in the Orenburg Region. The deal will enable the Company to help domestic production of breeder pigs, reducing the industry’s dependence on imports.

Under the agreement, Limited Liability Company Agricultural Complex Mikhailovskiy and Cherkizovo-Pork (both are part of Cherkizovo Group) are to own 99% and 1%, respectively, of Vishnevsky GBC. The deal, already approved by the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service, involved Business Solutions and Technologies as a financial advisor and ALUMNI partners and Branan Legal as legal advisors.

Vishnevsky Genetics and Breeding Center was founded in 2006 in the Orenburg Region and rears purebred Yorkshire, Duroc, and Landrace swine and hybrid F1 pigs. Its other lines of business involve pig breeding and pork production spread across five sites, which include multiplication units, farms, a feed mill, and a slaughter house. The center’s total capacity exceeds 250,000 heads per year.

The acquisition marks a new addition to Cherkizovo Group’s geographies – the Orenburg Region – and will enable the Company to engage in swine genetics work and artificial selection. This will enhance the Group’s vertical integration in pork production and help reduce the entire industry’s dependence on imported breeder pigs, ensuring the market demand for high-quality products is sufficiently covered. Moreover, the deal is expected to increase Cherkizovo’s pork output for its meat processing facilities.