Page 6 - Food&Drink Magazine August 2019

NEWS
Hong Kong firm buys Craveable Brands
CRAVEABLE Brands, operating Red Rooster, Oporto and Chicken Treat stores across Australia and Asia, has been sold to PAG Asia Capital. It is the Hong Kong based private equity buyout arm of investment firm PAG.
It acquired the company from Archer Capital and minority shareholders. In a joint statement, Archer Capital managing partner Peter Gold says: “Since our investment in 2011 we have been successful in building this business to approximately $800m of network sales annually... We look forward to seeing the business expand and prosper under PAG’s ownership.”
AB InBev drops IPO, sells CUB
ANHEUSER-BUSCH InBev has sold Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) to Asahi Group Holdings for $16 billion. The announcement came just days after it pulled its planned listing of its Asia Pacific unit on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, citing several factors including “prevailing market conditions”.
AB InBev CEO Carlos Brito said the company continues to see “great potential” in APAC, with the region remaining “a growth engine” for the company.
The divestiture of CUB will go towards paying down AB InBev’s debt. Brito said that regardless of the CUB sale, the company is aiming to reach a net debt to EBITDA target ratio of below 4x by the end of 2020. In 2016, the company bought rival SABMiller, which left it with a US$100 billion debt.
For Asahi, it meant acquiring a broad distribution network
and greater scale in procurement for its existing Australian business.
In a statement, the company said: “The acquisition also further enhances Asahi’s management resources by bringing with it a wealth of talented global and local management.”
AB InBev’s regional business, known as Budweiser Brewing Company APAC, has a portfolio of more than 50 beer brands
including Stella Artois, Corona Budweiser and Hoegaarden. In the abandoned IPO, AB InBev was marketing shares with an indicative range of HK$40-$47.
Budweiser APAC was looking to raise between US$8.3-$9.8 billion through the float, mainly to go towards paying down debt at its parent company. Buying rival SABMiller in 2016 left AB InBev withaUS$100billiondebt. ✷
PAG chair and CEO Weijian Shan says the company will be a “terrific asset” in the quick service retail market.
“We see great opportunities for Craveable and look forward to working with management on the next stage of portfolio innovation. PAG has a long track record of successful partnerships with established brands and franchisee networks, notably in our work with The Cheesecake Shop,” Shan says.
Craveable has more than 580 quick service restaurants across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Sri Lanka with plans to open in Vietnam and the Middle East.
Current management will stay in place. CEO Brett Houldin says the company is looking forward to benefiting from PAG’s “wealth of experience and international connections”. ✷
OWNER of Snack Brands Australia, Universal Robina Corp and German-based snack food maker, Intersnack Group have announced a strategic partnership. URC is selling 40 per cent of its consolidated business in Australia and
New Zealand to Intersnack.
The value of the deal is not known but is a mix of cash and shares in Intersnack’s Australian brand Yarra
Valley Snack Foods (YVSF).
The deal was struck
through URC’s wholly owned British Virgin Islands subsidiary URC Oceania Company to drive operational growth and efficiencies in the region and give URC access to the European market.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (8 July), URC said: “Leveraging on
URC and Intersnack’s know- how from their respective markets will yield best practices in manufacturing, supply chain and sustainability practices, setting the groundwork for an even larger and more efficient Oceania operations.
“Through this transaction, URC monetises some of the
synergies it has generated from its early investments in Australia and New Zealand, while still retaining control and its ability to further create value within and beyond ANZ.”
URC bought snack maker Snack Brands Australia for $600 million in 2016. That followed its purchase of New Zealand’s largest snacks maker, Griffin’s Foods, from private equity firm Pacific Equity Partners for $645 million in 2014.
Intersnack operates in 24 countries, but is limited in Australia to YVSF, which has brands Tyrells Crisps, Thomas Chipman Organic Chips and Wholesome Food Company.
The deal is waiting on Australian Foreign Investment Review Board and the
New Zealand Overseas Investment Office approval. ✷
Snack Brands owner, Intersnack deal
6 | Food&Drink business | August 2019 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au