Bid for Regina brand and processing plant underscores expansion strategy in specialty cheeses.
Just months after completing its first acquisition, Tirolez announced on Wednesday (16) that it has signed a proposal to acquire one of the four standalone production units of Barbosa & Marques, which has been under court-supervised reorganization since March 2023. The deal includes an industrial plant located in Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais, and the Regina cheese brand. The company did not disclose the value of the proposal.
Tirolez CEO Marcel de Barros said in a statement that the transaction aims to expand the company’s capacity in specialty cheeses, incorporate the Regina brand into its portfolio, and enable entry into the whey powder segment, a key input for producing milk protein isolate.
According to Barbosa & Marques’s restructuring plan, the Governador Valadares plant has the capacity to process and dry 480,000 liters of whey and up to 120,000 liters of milk per day. Tirolez plans to lease the facility until the acquisition is finalized. The plant is located in the Vale do Rio Doce region, the seventh-largest milk production zone in Minas Gerais.
Barbosa & Marques has operated in the dairy sector since 1934. The Regina brand portfolio includes cheeses, butter, and cheese spreads. The group also owns Caprilat, focused on goat milk products, and Total, a UHT milk brand.
Founded in 1980, Tirolez holds about a 5% share of Brazil’s cheese market. Last year, the company began a broader expansion strategy, taking advantage of market opportunities.
“With current interest rates, some companies have opted to sell their businesses. For companies with a solid position and appropriate capital structure, opportunities emerge — and that is what we at Tirolez are pursuing,”
Barros said in an interview with Valor in February, when the company completed the acquisition of buffalo dairy producer Levitare. At the time, he said the company was evaluating additional acquisitions and could announce further deals this year.
The proposed acquisition is another sign of ongoing consolidation in Brazil’s cheese sector. In October 2025, Tirolez announced the purchase of Levitare. In late December, France-based Savencia Fromage & Dairy, owner of Polenghi, acquired Quatá Alimentos. In January, Grupo Piracanjuba acquired specialty cheese producer Básel Lácteos.
Completion of the deal remains subject to approval by Brazil’s antitrust regulator, CADE, and by the 5th Civil Court of Governador Valadares, where Barbosa & Marques’s court-supervised reorganization is being processed.
Source: Valor International
