TU takes major stake in German seafood firm
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HAI UNION Group (TU), the world’s largest processor of shelf-stable tuna, announced yesterday that it had entered an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Ruegen Fisch, a market leader for shelf-stable canned seafood in Germany.
Through this partnership with Ruegen Fisch, TU becomes a market leader in Germany and further strengthens its position as one of the European seafood leaders, said Thiraphong Chansiri, president and chief executive of TU.
The deal is expected to be completed by the end of next month subject to merger clearance in Germany. The current shareholders will stay in the company and will continue its successful development together with TU.
Ruegen Fisch, based in northeastern Germany, currently generates annual revenue in excess of 140 million euros (Bt5.5 billion). The company supplies ambient and chilled fish including herring, mackerel and salmon across Germany to all of the leading retailers under key brands such as Ruegen Fisch, Hawesta, Ostsee Fisch and Lysell, along with a significant private label business.
The company employs more than 850 people across the four primary state-of-the-art facilities in Germany and Lithuania. Thiraphong said Germany was one of the largest seafood markets and part of TU’s strategic pillars for growth in Europe. Additionally, this move offers strategic benefits for TU, as tuna is the-fastest growing category in this regional market.
“As such, this presents the opporatunity 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 Ruegen Fisch and the tuna expertise of TU,” he said.
“I am confident that we will be able to work together with the existing shareholders and management led by Mr Andrew Bergmann to drive forward the development of the company. Through the utilisation of the key strengths of both Ruegen Fisch and TU, it is reasonable to create substantial organic growth opportunities that will achieve promising returns by 2020.”
Berthold Brinkmann, chairman of the advisory board of Ruegen Fisch AG, added: “Ruegen Fisch is known for its strong brands and traditional heritage.
We firmly believe that due to our high product quality, modern production facilities and successful distribution network with German retailers, we are the ideal partner for TU. “Together we have founded a strategic partnership which will allow for the establishment of innovative tuna products in the German market, aided by the extensive knowledge and experience of TU.
“Furthermore, the cooperation with TU will enable us to invest significantly in our business and provide our customers with a diversified product range to choose from. Con-sequentially, we expect positive growth of the Ruegen Fisch Group in both the domestic and international markets.”
