The firms Mykogen and Fungis have joined forces, creating one of the market leaders in the production of substrates for mushrooms. The merged companies will control approximately 20 percent of the Polish market and do not rule out further acquisitions.
Mykogen Poland, which since late 2012 is controlled by the private equity fund Abris Capital Partners, has taken over the similar-sized company Fungis, based in the vicinity of Skieiewice, in the Lodz region. The transaction has created one of the largest suppliers of substrates for mushroom production, not only in Poland, but also at European level.“The production capacity of both plants exceeds 200 thousand tonnes per year. Furthermore, Mykogen has another production plant in Ukraine with a production capacity greater than 100 thousand tonnes per year,” stated Rafal Nawrocki, president of both companies.
The annual total sales amount to approximately 140 million złoty (about 32 million Euro). The company does not expect significant investments in the increase of its production capacity. “We want to best use the potential that we have and get the most synergies; however, the consolidation process in our industry is inevitable and the company, as a market leader, does not rule out further acquisitions,” he adds. The prospects are really good. Poland is the largest producer of mushrooms in Europe and the third largest in the world. Everything points to the fact that its share will continue to increase, because production costs are lower than in Western Europe. “Also, nearly 80 percent of Polish mushrooms are exported,”stresses the president Nawrocki. In 2015, production of mushrooms in Poland amounted to 335 thousand tonnes.
