Cobb Germany acquires substantial stake in Russian hatchery business

The firm, a distributor for Cobb-Vantress, has acquired the stake in a fellow Cobb grandparent distributor Broiler Budeshego.

One of Europe’s leading distributors of broiler breeding stock, Cobb Germany is part of the Wimex Group which is based in Regenstauf, Germany, and has expanded in the past 3 decades to become a major producer of hatching eggs and broiler chicks for the European poultry sector. It distributes breeding stock in more than 20 nations across Central and Eastern Europe.

Cobb breeding stock

Broiler Budeshego began hatching Cobb parent stock chicks at a new facility in Stromyn, near Moscow, in 2014, and is now selling 7 million chicks a year to the Russian industry.

In a separate move, Broiler Budeshego has signed an agreement with the Prioskolie group to take over its grandparent production facilities and supply it with Cobb breeding stock. Prioskolie is the market leader for chicken meat in Russia with annual production of more than 600,000 tonnes.

Leo Graf von Drechsel, Wimex poultry director, said the 2 moves meant that Broiler Budeshego had taken major steps forward in expanding its production base in Russia and growing its market share.

Positive move for Cobb Russia

Roy Mutimer, Cobb vice-president for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific regions, said: “It has been thrilling to watch the efforts of our Russian colleagues deliver such fantastic growth for Cobb in Russia in recent years. This is an extremely positive move for Cobb Russia and the team.”