Page 64 - Food&Drink Nov-Dec 2020

YEAR IN REVIEW
According to industry analyst Paul Allen, the sale would be completed in two parts: sale-leaseback of properties to a REIT for US$147 million, and sale of remaining business value to Visy for US$505 million.
O-I is the largest manufacturer of glass bottles and containers in Australia- New Zealand with factories in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Auckland.
MARS WRIGLEY $300K NEW TECH INVESTMENT Mars Wrigley Australia invested $300,000 in its chocolate factory in Ballarat, Victoria, bringing new technology to the site to
help locally produce the M&M’s Pretzel. The investment formed part of the company’s broader $37 million commitment for equipment upgrades.
The Ballarat factory produces five billion M&M’s per year,
with the new M&M’s Pretzel – a salty and sweet treat to soon be available in Australia for the first time – now the latest addition to the production line.
MICHAEL PERICH INTERIM FREEDOM FOODS CEO Michael Perich was announced as the interim CEO for Freedom Foods Group in August, as investigations continued into how the company amassed more than $60 million in inventory write-downs and $10 million in bad debts.
The Perich family own 54 per cent of the business. They are Australia’s largest
dairy farming
family and became major shareholders in 2005.
The board said Perich’s “deep understanding”
of the business would provide
the stability,
focus and leadership needed to manage its issues.
74 JOBS CUT AT BEGA
Bega Cheese announced the reduction and consolidation of its processed cheese production, with 74 jobs to go at its Bega facility by Christmas 2020.
The company has two plants that produce processed cheese, Bega in New South Wales and Strathmerton in Victoria. All processed cheese slices will now be made at Strathmerton.
The company said: “The transition of the volume will result in 74 positions being made redundant at our Ridge Street facility by December. Voluntary site wide redundancies will be offered meaning that some processed cheese staff may elect to take the redundancy and there maybe opportunities for some processed cheese staff to retrain for other roles within Bega Cheese.”
Bega Cheese employs around 600 staff at Bega-based facilities.
WOOLWORTHS’ $552M STAKE IN PFD
Woolworths Group will acquire a 65 per cent stake in foodservice supplier PFD Food Services for $552 million, as well as 100 per cent of PFD’s freehold properties, including its 26 distribution centres.
The transaction will see a $302 million initial investment from Woolworths in PFD to acquire 65 per cent equity interest, while PFD’s distribution centre properties will be purchased for $249 million and leased back.
Woolworths Group CEO Brad Banducci said the deal will build on the existing partnership with PFD, which is currently the number two player in the large and fragmented out-of-home foodservice and non-retail
business-to-business markets.
In September, the ACCC said it was investigating the proposed acquisition.
ASAHI,
PACT GROUP, CLEANAWAY’S
$45M JV
A joint venture between Asahi Beverages, Pact Group
and Cleanaway Waste
Management will build a $45 million recycling plant in Albury/Wodonga, the companies announced. It will trade as Circular Plastics Australia (PET).
It is anticipated the facility will recycle the equivalent of around 1 billion 600ml PET plastic bottles each year, which will be used as a raw material to produce new bottles plus food and beverage packaging in Australia to help close the loop on recycling.
packs of stock and a million more units of V8 Juice.
The new identity – The Arnott’s Group – and a refreshed corporate logo have also been released, as part of its strategy to build the company into a multinational consumer food business across the Asia Pacific.
“ Bega Cheese announced 74 job losses as it consolidates processed cheese production to the Strathmerton plant in Victoria.”
The build will create dozens of direct jobs, with construction due to begin towards the end of this year. It is expected to be fully operational by December 2021.
LION DAIRY & DRINKS SALE COLLAPSES
The proposed sale of Lion’s Dairy & Drinks business to China Mengniu Dairy Company fell through, with both parties walking away due to approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) being “unlikely”.
The proposed deal was announced in November 2019 was worth $600 million and would have signalled the full divestment of Lion’s Dairy & Drinks business.
The sale would have included all white milk, milk-based beverages, yoghurt, juice and water ice brands and assets. Dairy & Drinks’ international business, its share of joint ventures with Vitasoy Australia Products and Capitol Chilled Foods Australia, and the licensing agreement for the Yoplait brand were also part of the deal.
ARNOTT’S NEW CORPORATE IDENTITY Arnott’s strong FY20 results provided clear evidence of this year’s unprecedented consumer trend of returning to brands they know and trust during the uncertainty and stress of COVID-19. From March to June, it recorded additional sales of four million packs of chocolate biscuits, two million cans of soup, 2.7 million
BEINGMATE TO MAKE BUBS FORMULA IN CHINA Bubs Australia entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with joint venture partner Beingmate to manufacture Bubs Goat Infant Formula, made from 100 per cent Bubs Australian goat milk, in China.
As part of the MoU, Bubs
will have the opportunity to acquire an ownership interest in one of Beingmate’s infant formula manufacturing facilities in Beihai, China. Support from Beingmate to secure a brand slot with China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR)
will also be gained.
The SAMR helps oversee all manners of market control, such as streamlining regulation, intellectual property rights and issuance of business licenses.
SEP/OCT
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