Written by Elizabeth Sanchez-Lacson
Alliance Tuna International Inc., Philippine exporter of tuna products, is pursuing a majority acquisition into New Zealand company Prime Foods New Zealand (PFNZ), the second largest processor of salmon in that country, for roughly P115 million (USD 2.4 million).
The acquisition is said to be part of Alliance Tuna’s bid to expand into Oceania—the region consisting of islands in the Pacific region, including Australia, the Malay archipelago, Melanesia, Micronesia, New Zealand and Polynesia.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange, Alliance Tuna said its board authorized management to sign a memorandum of agreement with Prime Foods and to conduct a due diligence review of the company before investing in it for roughly NZD 1.3 million (USD 0.8 million).
PFNZ, established by Henry Studholme, has been manufacturing and selling smoked seafood since 1994, including hot smoked, cold smoked and marinated salmon. Since then, it has grown to become one of the largest retail suppliers of smoked seafood in
PFNZ is the second largest processor and seller of salmon in
PFNZ is Alliance Tuna’s second acquisition target in less than six months after investing in a tuna cannery in
Should the due diligence favor an equity investment in PFNZ, Alliance Tuna must buy at least 50 percent plus 1 share of PFNZ.
Alliance Tuna’s proposed investment will consist of P45 million for a
These will be funded using internal cash, Alliance Tuna president Jonathan Dee said.
Dee also said prospects for Alliance Tuna continues to be bright, despite the economic slowdown, with only 15 percent of export sales going to the
Alliance Tuna International Inc. is one of the firms which are listed in the Atuna Stock Index – click here to go to the Stock Index