Nutreco has signed an agreement to acquire 75% of the shares in Gisis S.A., the fish feed subsidiary of the Expalsa group.
Expalsa is market leader in fish feed production and shrimp and tilapia farming in Ecuador and has strong market positions in Honduras and Peru.
The acquisition of Gisis takes Nutreco into the global top three shrimp feed suppliers and fully supports Nutreco's growth strategy to expand its fish feed business in growth geographies and non-salmonid species.
This acquisition strengthens Nutreco's aquaculture feed business Skretting in Latin America, with production, sales and distribution facilities for shrimp and tilapia feed in Ecuador, Honduras and Peru, and a joint venture with Regal Springs in Honduras.
Expected revenues in 2012 are €160m (2011: €135m). The total consideration for the acquisition of 75% of the shares, including corresponding net debt, is approximately €78m. Closing of the transaction is subject to gaining regulatory approval from the Ecuadorian competition authority.
Gisis employs approximately 400 people and has two feed production plants in Guayaquil, Ecuador. It produced around 200,000 tonnes of shrimp and fish feed in 2011 and 70,000 tonnes of other feeds, including 50,000 tonnes of poultry feed. The size of the shrimp feed market in Ecuador in 2011 is estimated at 350,000 tonnes.
Part of the acquisition comprises a joint venture with Regal Springs in Honduras which is currently building a fish feed plant. Regal Springs is a leading tilapia farmer in Indonesia with operations also in Mexico and Honduras and is the world's first fish farming company certified by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council. Nutreco and Regal Springs will study further strategic relationships in Mexico and Indonesia upon closing of this transaction.
