Thai Union has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Rügen Fisch AG.
The company is a market leader for shelf-stable canned seafood in Germany and the current shareholders will work together with the Thai Union.
Thiraphong Chansiri, president and CEO of Thai Union, said: “Germany is one of the largest seafood markets and part of our strategic pillars for growth in Europe.”
“Through this partnership with Rügen Fisch, Thai Union becomes a market leader in Germany and further strengthens its position as one of the European seafood leaders.”
The deal is expected to be completed by the end of January 2016 subject to merger clearance in Germany.
Rügen Fisch currently generates revenue in excess of €140m and employs over 850 people across the four primary state-of-the-art facilities in Germany and Lithuania.
Mr Chansiri, continued: “This move offers strategic benefits for Thai Union, as tuna is the fastest growing category in this regional market. As such, this presents the opportunity for further organic growth, helping deliver key synergies within our existing businesses, most notably King Oscar and Meralliance.”
“This will be achieved through the combined commercial strength of Rügen Fisch and the tuna expertise of Thai Union.”
He concluded: “Through the utilization of the key strengths of both Rügen Fisch and Thai Union, it is reasonable to create substantial organic growth opportunities that will achieve promising returns by 2020.”
