Northern Ireland based SHS Group has acquired the Irish business of Swedish Match for an undisclosed sum. The deal involves the acquisition by SHS of the well known Cara and Maguire & Patterson match brands.
Swedish Match owns a range of lighter and match brands as well as niche brands in the tobacco area. It also acts as an ageny for a number of grocery and pharmacy products, including Colgate, Lemsip, Marigold, Twinnings and Ovaltine. It employs 45 people at Ballycoolin in Dublin.
The SHS group, established in 1975 in the North, employs over 600 people across Ireland and the UK and has a turnover of over €400m. It has a total of eleven businesses, operating in four distinct areas - sales and marketing, brand ownership and development, corporate services and manufacturing. It owns such brands as Farmlea Foods, Gourmet Garden and Gordons Fine Foods.
