Sucden takes control of Russian coffee maker Milfoods via share pledge
What's the deal? Structures of French sugar producer SucdenDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → have effectively gained control of MilfoodsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the Russian company behind the Poetti and Milagro coffee brands. The two agreed a strategic partnership under which Milfoods owner Vikas Soi pledged his stake in the business as collateral for a trade credit, valued by experts at 2–3 billion roubles.
How is it structured? Milfoods signed the deal with Sucden's Russian arm, OOO SDS, according to a letter to counterparties seen by Kommersant . In June 2026, Soi pledged his stake to Sucden-controlled OOO Agroservice as security for the trade credit. Sucden says it has no plans to enter Milfoods' share capital, and no management changes are envisaged.
Who are the players? Sucden supplies sugar, coffee, and cocoa, and has operated in Russia since 1991 as a sugar producer. It owns four plants capable of producing 800,000 tonnes of white sugar a year and manages 260,000ha of farmland. Milfoods, founded in 2008, bought Finnish coffee maker PauligDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s Russian assets in 2022 and launched Poetti at its Tver facilities.
The financials: Milfoods posted revenue of 9.46 billion roubles in 2025, up 93.9% year on year, according to SPARK. Net profit reached 427.9 million roubles, reversing a prior-year loss. Investment banker Ilya Shumov values the business at 2.5–3 billion roubles.
What's the endgame? Sucden says it wants to keep its Russian assets and gain access to a wider range of green coffee. One market source told Kommersant the arrangement is effectively a disguised acquisition, while another said Milfoods had been actively seeking a buyer.
What could go wrong? Shumov notes the pledge could form part of a vertical integration play; Sucden's structures already made Russian acquisitions after 2022, buying OOO Agro Eco Mokshan from Turkey's Arbel Group in 2024. Neo consultant Elizaveta Varova calls the share pledge "control without formal purchase," a possible interim step in a larger deal that keeps the asset away from competitors.
The signal: The move points to vertical integration in Russia's food sector, where a coffee-roasting business gives Sucden steady demand and a margin on finished products. As BGP Capital's Yuri Levitsky notes, with bank financing expensive, a supplier can readily step in as lender for a growing business hungry for working capital.
Read more: Kommersant
Image credit: Kris Krug
