Thai Union Frozen Public Company Limited (TUF) has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of MerAlliance, a leading European smoked-salmon producer.
TUF aims to leverage MerAlliance’s position as a leading smoked salmon player in Europe as well as its strong growth track-record to expand its base within the chilled category in Europe. France-based MerAlliance posted sales of USD 220 million as of ending 31 March 2014.
This transaction will reinforce TUF’s subsidiary MW Brands’ position in the European market. MW Brands sells well-established consumer brands including Petit Navire, John West, Parmentier, and Mareblu. With this acquisition, MWBrands intends to be the European seafood specialist in both the ambient and chilled seafood categories.
The acquisition of MerAlliance will be a key step towards TUF’s goal to double the group’s revenue by 2020. It is expected that the acquisition of MerAlliance will result in an increase in TUF’s group revenues by an estimated 5-6%.
According to Thiraphong Chansiri, President and CEO of TUF, “This acquisition makes perfect sense, both in terms of strategy and timing. The new partnership will enable us to develop further growth opportunities in chilled smoked fish specialties by building on each partner’s strengths and common grounds.
“Our strategy is to look for hidden pearls within each of our strategic business categories that can strengthen our position and act as platforms for growth. This is our first acquisition as part of this strategy, and I look forward to sharing additional news with you in due course.”
TUF’s agreement to acquire 100% of MerAlliance is subject to customary closing conditions and the transaction is expected to be completed in Q4 2014.
