Thai Union Group acquires seafood ‘King’

The King Oscar Holding AS brand has been going strong for more than 140 years. It tops the premium sardine category in Norway, USA and Australia, and posted sales of US$80m with EBITDA margin of around 12% in 2013.

“It is a relatively small, but highly strategic acquisition for our group. It will give us a unique position and an opportunity to build ‘King Oscar’ brand in the market worldwide and into our global brand portfolio,” said Thiraphong Chansiri, president and CEO, TUF.

TUF says the sale will also enable it to hit its revenue target of US$8bn by 2020, if not before.

“Even after this transaction, our net-debt-to-equity ratio of 0.8 time is still in a comfortable range. Our calculated direction for growth within the Group’s six strategic business categories has become even stronger and more prevalent with this world-class brand acquisition,” Mr Chansiri added. “In addition to organic growth, mergers and acquisitions will continue to be the company’s key strategy for business expansion in both short and long term.”

Headquartered in Bergen, Norway, ‘King Oscar’ has two world-class production facilities in Poland and Norway, with a total combined capacity of 135 million cans and a workforce of 500 people, producing and selling 90 million cans per year covering 16 markets globally.

TUF says this latest acquisition will complement its existing portfolio of leading global brands including John West, Parmentier, Petit Navire, Mareblu, Chicken of the Sea and Sealect.

The partnership is also expected to significantly strengthen TUF’s brand presence in Scandinavia, as well as its manufacturing footprint in Poland, as one of the Group’s state-of-the-art production hubs.

Completion of the sale is subject to regulatory approvals which are expected in Q4 2014.