The financial brokerage firm Evernord has placed a EUR 4 million bond for Dehidra, a producer of freeze-dried products. The largest strawberry grower in the Baltics and one of the largest producers of freeze-dried products in Northern Europe intends to use the funds raised in the bond issue to expand its operations.

The two-year bond issue by UAB Dehidra was issued to private investors on a private placement basis, with an annual yield of 12% and interest payable semi-annually. The bonds will be redeemed on 10 May 2025.

“We have been working with Dehidra since 2021, when we also issued €4 million worth of Dehidra bonds in two phases. During these two years, the company has strengthened its production capacity, rapidly increased sales and expanded in export markets. The company, which operates in an interesting market, is one of the relatively rare companies in the agricultural sector engaged in high value-added, state-of-the-art production, and is therefore of interest to investors, both for its uniqueness and for its well-appreciated prospects,” says Vismantė Šepetienė, Director of Evernord FMI.

According to V.Šepetienė, the issued bonds will soon be registered with the Central Securities Depository “Nasdaq CSD SE”.

“After two years of working with Evernord and successfully deploying borrowed funds, we have made significant progress and grown the value of our business. Simply put, we were gaining momentum, so it was only natural to use the bonds again to finance the planned further expansion. We will use the borrowed funds to expand our export geography – we are already present in South Korea, the United Kingdom and Germany, and we intend to expand our export markets to Taiwan and the United States,” says Vykintas Misiūnas, Dehidra’s CEO.

In 2022, Dehidra’s sales revenues amounted to EUR 4.2 million, of which exports accounted for 60%. In 2023, revenues are expected to reach EUR 10 million, with exports accounting for over 80%.

“Dehidra’s product portfolio includes freeze-dried fruit and berries, snacks and smoothies. In mid-2022, Dehidra built a modern plant with two freeze-dryers as part of its first expansion phase. The plant is used for freeze-drying and packaging of own-brand Summmer products, UK brand Mixologist’s Garden additives for beverages, and products for wholesalers in export markets, used as additives in the food and beverage industry. The company also supplies its own strawberries to major supermarket chains in Lithuania.

In 2024, the company plans to build two more freeze-dryers in addition to the two existing ones, increasing its annual revenue to almost €20 million.

“Dehidra has partnered with DOLE (formerly Total Produce), the world’s largest supplier of fruit and vegetables to supermarkets and businesses, to sell Dehidra’s produce on the international market.

https://www.vz.lt/rinkos/2023/05/18/liofilizuotu-vaisiu-bendrove-dehidra-obligacijomis-pasiskolino-uz-12