Bosqar Invest has announced a strategic investment in Mlinar Group, a leading bakery operator in the Adria region, in a transaction valued at €100mn. 

The deal strengthens Bosqar’s diversified portfolio, which spans business process outsourcing, e-commerce, recruitment and agri-food, after it launched its Future Food vertical with the takeover of Slovenia’s Panvita Group earlier this year.

The transaction has a total value of €100mn, with Bosqar Invest buying a 67% indirect stake in Mlinar along with its partners. Bosqar will acquire an immediate 50.1% stake, a press release said on December 19. 

The group will receive strategic support from private equity investor MidEuropa, which has a longstanding partnership with Bosqar, following collaboration other sectors, such as business process and technology outsourcing (BPTO).

The transaction, which remains subject to regulatory approval, will expand Bosqar Invest’s workforce to over 16,000 employees and boost its consolidated annual revenue to approximately €700mn by 2025, the company’s press release said.

Investment in food 

Outlining Bosqar’s move into the agri-food sector, CFO Vanja Vlak said in an interview with bne IntelliNews on December 19 that as the group looked at different industries, whatever the global context – whether it was during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic or the invasion of Ukraine – “food always came up”. 

“There is humungous potential in Southeast Europe. There is not yet a concentration of resources, mainly for historical reasons, so there is a lot of potential for consolidation. The people who took over those industries after socialism are now retiring, which creates a big opportunity,” he added.

The steady increase in prosperity in Southeast Europe is another factor. "Western Europe is the predominant target market, but GDP per capita in countries in the region is also growing, so there is demand for better products,” Vlak said. 

The Mlinar Group is the largest bakery chain in the Adria region, serving 16mn people across Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia. Following an investment by MidEuropa, it evolved into a modern, consumer-focused business, nearly doubling revenue from 2019 to 2024. With five production facilities, 2,500 employees, and exports to over 20 markets, Mlinar earned €163mn in 2024. 

This made Mlinar an attractive target for Bosqar. “Mlinar has been developing for the last decade to become a pure leader in Croatia. No other company in the bakery sector is even close from a perspective of size, management, products or quality of its production facilities,” said Vlak. 

“They have a very specific business model, with a strong retail chain and wholesale business. It benefits from Croatia being a tourist economy, where the population doubles for three months of the year. For a retail bakery, June, July and August are very strong months,” he added. 

Bosqar is already eyeing potential acquisitions to expand Mlinar’s business. “There are a couple of other companies in the market for acquisition. In the region, for example, Serbia and Bosnia, there is no big player that dominates this entire market, so we can position ourselves as a pure regional leader for bakery,” according to Vlak. 

Mutual support 

According to Bosqar and MidEuropa, there will be benefits to both Mlinar and Panvita from the deal.

“This partnership marks a significant step forward for Mlinar Group,” said Robert Knorr, managing partner at MidEuropa. “Together, we will work to position Mlinar and expand its influence in the region and across international markets, reinforcing its status as a leader in the industry.”

“There is potential to work with Panvita, even though one is in the meat sector and the other is a bakery. The connection with Panvita will open a larger market in Slovenia for Mlinar. On the other hand, Mlinar has a very strong logistics network, while Panvita has room to grow in Croatia at this moment. Then the two companies are basically making the same purchases – flour, wheat and corn – which makes a good fit. The mathematics are simple and clear for us,” Vlak told bne IntelliNews. 

Mladen Veber, president of Mlinar’s management board, also spoke of the growth potential unlocked by the new partnership. “Mlinar is a leader in the bakery industry thanks to its focus on quality, innovation and development of new products … Empowered by this investment from Bosqar Invest and its partners, Mlinar will be in an ideal position to realise its ambitions when it comes to regional and international markets, expanding its footprint and its services to become a leading regional fresh food producer, distributor, and convenience retail chain,” he said, according to the press release.

Bosqar Invest is active across four business verticals: BPTO (Mplus), HR (Manpower, Workplace), eCommerce (Eplus Ventures) and Food (Future Food Solutions). Its growth strategy combines organic expansion with acquisitions, and it has acquired 57 companies since 2016. Owned by pension funds, private equity, and institutional investors, the group employs over 13,900 people and serves clients in 57 countries, including Croatia.