The interest of industrial investors in the meat sector has been maintained both for assets from bankruptcies as well as for assets from mergers and acquisitions and partnerships for growth.
Investors are interested in assets from companies in insolvency proceedings
Han sido varias las operaciones de compra de activos procedentes de concursos de acreedores en el sector cárnico. Una de las operaciones más sonadas procede del grupo Nueva Rumasa, la extremeña Carcesa, fabricante de los productos cárnicos ‘Apis’ and juices and sauces ‘Fruco’ It was eventually taken over by Carnes y Vegetales, a company promoted by the cooperatives Acopaex and Guadiana Tomatoes (with 42%) and public investor Extremadura Avante (41%). The sale of this former Nueva Rumasa subsidiary, valued at €16.5 million and authorised months ago by Badajoz Commercial Court No. 1, had been delayed several times due to formal issues and in order to allow Carnes Vegetales' shareholder Carnes Vegetales to take a stake in the company. Caja Rural de Almendralejo, with a 17%. Precisely, this savings bank had also just agreed with the insolvency administration the sale of the assets of another former Nueva Rumasa company, Cárnica Oliventina, to the Madrid meat group. Los Norteños.
"It has not been the only operation of this type. Some have been taken over by foreign investors, such as the acquisition of the Valladolid poultry company Hibramer by the Italian company Eurovo. Others, such as Agroalimentaria de Teruel, tried to concentrate its activity on the slaughter and cutting of pigmeat, for which it sold its livestock to the Teruel-based company Garte Ganadera, operation with which it sought to lighten its costs in the short term and receive a cash injection that would allow the rest of its business to survive. In this type of operation, there are times when strategic assets are lost and the company is unable to survive, as in this case when the company went into insolvency proceedings in September 2013". Diego Gutierrez, expert in corporate finance, comments in Abra Invest.
Creation of a new meat giant, Carniques Celrá.
Following the acquisition of the 70% Escorxador de la Garrotxa in 2012, Carniques Celrá linked to the Gironese group Càrniques Juià invested more than €16.5m in a new cold store, located at the group's headquarters, and in extending the Escorxador de la Garrotxa's own facilities. The new warehouse will be able to store 10 million kilos of pork. As far as the Escorxador de la Garrotxa is concerned, the main investments here have been in a tunnel for cooling the carcasses (with a capacity to process 2,000 animals per hour) and a refrigeration chamber. The meat group from Girona had a turnover of almost €500M in 2012 and this year 2013 it has set its sights on obtaining approval to sell directly in China, as well as expanding to places such as Australia and New Zealand.
Campofrio creates a jonit-venture with Foxlease Food
Campofrio reached an agreement with Foxlease Food to develop the ham business in France through the sale of the 51% of subsidiary Jean Caby SAS and holding a minority position in the investee. Jean Caby, one of France's leading cooked sausage and ham brands, operates 3 factories in Lille, Quimper and Landivisiau and employs over 1,500 people. Campofrio Food Group is one of the largest processed meat companies in the world, with a leading position in Europe. The group has production sites in different countries to supply domestic and foreign markets.
