The largest chicken producer in Greece passes into the hands of the Ukrainian MHP

Ukrainian agro-industrial group MHP signed a phased acquisition agreement 70% Greek company Th. Nitsiakos AVEE – the largest private chicken producer in Greece and one of the key players in the local meat market.

The deal provides for a long-term strategic partnership, and in the future the Ukrainian group will be able to increase its share to 100%.

According to the message MHP SEpublished via London Stock Exchangethe acquisition will take place in several successive stages. Completion of the first phase is subject to the satisfaction of standard conditions, including receipt of necessary regulatory approvals. This is stated in the official statement of the company.

For MHP This is not just a purchase of a stake in a Greek company, but another step to expand its presence in the European market. Group founded by a Ukrainian entrepreneur Yuri Kosyukhas long been operating not only as a chicken producer in Ukraine, but also as an international agro-industrial player with assets in the countries of South-Eastern Europe.

Greek Th. Nitsiakos AVEE has been operating in the market for more than half a century and is considered one of the largest vertically integrated companies in the country’s food industry. It produces poultry, beef, pork, rabbit meat, and animal feed. According to Greek media reports, the company’s revenue 2025 amounted to about 540 million eurosmaking it one of the largest food producers in Greece.

What is included in Nitsiakos assets

Production base Nitsiakos includes four feed mills in Ioannina, Arte, Athens And Thessaloniki. Every year they process about 350 thousand tons of grain crops and about 200 thousand tons of soybean meal.

The assets also include incubators, poultry farms, meat processing plants, logistics centers and port warehouse complexes with a total area of ​​approximately 35 thousand sq. m. In addition, the company has an animal protein processing plant with a capacity 7 tons per hour.

In other words, MHP receives not just a brand and market share, but an already functioning production system: from feed and poultry farming to processing, logistics and distribution. In agribusiness, such vertical integration is valued much more than beautiful presentations, although, of course, there will also be presentations – without them, humanity, apparently, no longer knows how to buy factories.

Why the deal is important for the Greek market

For Greece, the deal represents a major shift in the balance of the poultry industry. Nitsiakos is not a peripheral player, but one of the pillars of the Greek market. The transfer of a controlling share to the Ukrainian group actually integrates a significant part of Greek chicken production into a broader European strategy MHP.

Greek economic publications are already noting that the deal is capable of changing the balance of power in the industry. MHP in recent years has been consistently strengthening the European direction: in 2019 the group acquired the Slovenian Perutnina Ptujand in 2025 completed the acquisition of more than 92% Spanish Grupo UVESAone of the major poultry and pork producers in Spain. Capital.gr writes about this strategy.

Now Greece is being added to this European chain. For MHP This is an opportunity to strengthen our position in the market EUdiversify revenues and expand production base in Southern and South-Eastern Europe. For Nitsiakos — a chance to gain access to international experience, capital and export channels of a major agro-industrial player.

What MHP says

Founder and CEO MHP Yuri Kosyuk called the agreement an important step in the development of the group’s international business. According to him, the expansion of foreign assets helps improve the company’s sustainability and creates additional opportunities for growth. At the same time MHP emphasizes that it continues to invest in the Ukrainian direction: only in the period from 2022 to 2025 the group invested approximately 30 billion hryvnia.

Financial results MHP for 2025 also show the scale of the company. The group’s revenue increased by 24% and reached $3.77 billionnet profit increased by almost a third – to $187 millionand the adjusted indicator EBITDA made up $569 million.

At the same time, the group’s business does not look cloudless. Profitability by EBITDA decreased from 19% to 15% against the backdrop of rising costs and weaker results in certain areas. In the fourth quarter, the company recorded a net loss of $28 million. That is, international expansion for MHP is not only an ambition, but also a way to reduce dependence on individual markets and segments.

Editorial comment

Deal with Nitsiakos shows that Ukrainian large agribusiness has long been thinking not only in terms of the domestic market. MHP is consistently assembling a European production network, and the purchase of a controlling stake in the largest Greek chicken producer fits well into this strategy.

For Greece the question is more complicated. On the one hand, the arrival of a major investor can provide capital, technology, new export opportunities and strengthening of the production base. On the other hand, control over a significant part of the food sector is transferred to a foreign group. For a small economy, this is always not only business news, but also a question of food autonomy, competition and the future of local producers.

So far, the deal looks like a logical step for both parties. But its real consequences will become clear later: in prices, investment, employment, relations with local suppliers and whether it will remain Nitsiakos Greek productive force with an international partner or will gradually become another node in a large external agricultural network. The market, of course, loves the word “synergy”. For the consumer, something else is usually more important: so that the product does not become more expensive, the quality does not fall, and jobs do not turn into a nice line in the report.

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