With sales of £1.4bn (€1.6bn), profits of £40m (€46m), processing 5.5m chickens per week and supplying around 25% of western Europe’s chicken parent market, Moy Park is a solid business, a consistent performer and will interest many international meat processors, food companies and investors alike.
But with a sales price in excess of £1bn, Moy Park does not come cheap. Moy Park has had many owners down through the years, including a textile company, Courtaulds, a management buyout, OSI Group, Brazilian Marfrig and then JBS. Which companies with the necessary financial firepower could be looking at Moy Park in this latest shakeup?
Tyson Foods - US meat and food company
Turnover: $37bnOperating profit: $2.8bnTyson Foods is the largest meat company in the US, with operations across all the major protein groups. The company is primarily based in the US, but export sales in 2016 accounted for just under 10% of the business at $3.5bn.
Processing 35m birds a week, poultry accounts for almost one third (30%) of the entire business and has been growing rapidly in recent years as consumption per capita increases. It is the world’s second-largest processor of chicken, beef and pork after JBS. It recently acquired AdvancePierre Foods in a transaction valued at $4.2bn.
Cargill – US commodity trader
Turnover: $107bnProfit: $1.64bnCargill, the privately held US grain commodities giant, with operations all across the world, is also a significant player in the primary processing meat industry. The company has actually been moving away from beef and pork in recent years after selling a number of processing assets to focus more on poultry processing.
In Europe, Cargill’s poultry division operates six processing facilities located in the UK, France and Russia and would have been a direct competitor of Moy Park’s, with sales into the retail, foodservice and food manufacturing channels.
LDC - French meat processor
Turnover: €3.5bnOperating profit: €161mLDC Group is a privately owned French poultry company with 75 processing sites located in France and Poland, which is Europe’s largest poultry-producing country. LDC employs 18,500 people across its business, with about 17% of sales coming from exports.
The company has less than €50m in debts and has cash reserves of €175m. Since it was first established in 1968, LDC has grown and expanded through strategic acquisition. The company has bought rival businesses, particularly targeting the acquisition of developed consumer brands in the poultry space.
WH Group – Chinese meat company
Turnover: $21.5bnOperating profit: $1.8bnWH Group is a privately owned Chinese meat and food processing company. In 2013, it acquired the largest pork producer in the US, Smithfield Foods, for a cool $4.7bn. Today, it is the largest pork producer in the world and the largest meat producer in China. It slaughters more than 50 million pigs a year, raising about 19 million of these. Recently, it has been scouting for US and European beef and poultry assets to buy, in a move that would sharpen its rivalry with global meat packers Tyson Foods and JBS.
COFCO - Chinese food commodities trader
Turnover: $64.5bnOperating profit: $266mChina’s state-owned grain-to-real estate conglomerate has recently embarked on an overhaul of its operations as part of Beijing’s effort to make the country’s sprawling government-owned entities more efficient. It has transformed from a manufacturer of grain and oil products to a fully integrated food business from farm-to-fork.
Three years ago, it bought a 51% stake in Dutch trader Nidera for $1.5bn. It is investing $1.5bn overseas under its ‘One Belt, One Road’ strategy.
BRF – Brazilian meat processor
Turnover: $9.7bnProfits: $882mBRF, formerly Brasil Foods, another Brazilian food company focused on poultry, pork, beef, dairy and processed food, is the largest poultry producer in the world. However, with BRF losing one sixth of its market value as a result of the recent Brazilian meat corruption scandal, it may dampen its current appetite for acquisitions.
Bright Foods – Chinese food multinational
Turnover: €10bnProfit: N/AAlthough not a meat processor, China’s Bright Foods, a state-owned multinational food manufacturing company, has been aggressively acquiring food companies recently. In 2014, the company acquired a 56% stake in Tnuva, Israel’s largest dairy company. One year later, it acquired a 50% stake in New Zealand meat company Silver Fern Farms for $190m. It recently sold its stake in Weetabix to Post Holdings for $1.8bn. It’s New Zealand subsidiary, Synlait Milk, recently acquired The New Zealand Dairy Company (NZDC).
Charoen Pokphand Foods – Thai food conglomerate
Turnover: $14bnProfit: $440mCharoen Pokphand Foods is a Thailand-based privately held company with vertically integrated operations in feed, pig, poultry and fish processing. It has been looking to buy assets overseas to boost growth and offset a slowdown in its home market. Last year, it acquired US frozen-food producer Bellisio Parent in a $1.1bn deal, which is in line with CPF’s strategy to expand into high-potential markets.
With sales of £1.4bn (€1.6bn), profits of £40m (€46m), processing 5.5m chickens per week and supplying around 25% of western Europe’s chicken parent market, Moy Park is a solid business, a consistent performer and will interest many international meat processors, food companies and investors alike.
But with a sales price in excess of £1bn, Moy Park does not come cheap. Moy Park has had many owners down through the years, including a textile company, Courtaulds, a management buyout, OSI Group, Brazilian Marfrig and then JBS. Which companies with the necessary financial firepower could be looking at Moy Park in this latest shakeup?
Tyson Foods - US meat and food company
Turnover: $37bnOperating profit: $2.8bnTyson Foods is the largest meat company in the US, with operations across all the major protein groups. The company is primarily based in the US, but export sales in 2016 accounted for just under 10% of the business at $3.5bn.
Processing 35m birds a week, poultry accounts for almost one third (30%) of the entire business and has been growing rapidly in recent years as consumption per capita increases. It is the world’s second-largest processor of chicken, beef and pork after JBS. It recently acquired AdvancePierre Foods in a transaction valued at $4.2bn.
Cargill – US commodity trader
Turnover: $107bnProfit: $1.64bnCargill, the privately held US grain commodities giant, with operations all across the world, is also a significant player in the primary processing meat industry. The company has actually been moving away from beef and pork in recent years after selling a number of processing assets to focus more on poultry processing.
In Europe, Cargill’s poultry division operates six processing facilities located in the UK, France and Russia and would have been a direct competitor of Moy Park’s, with sales into the retail, foodservice and food manufacturing channels.
LDC - French meat processor
Turnover: €3.5bnOperating profit: €161mLDC Group is a privately owned French poultry company with 75 processing sites located in France and Poland, which is Europe’s largest poultry-producing country. LDC employs 18,500 people across its business, with about 17% of sales coming from exports.
The company has less than €50m in debts and has cash reserves of €175m. Since it was first established in 1968, LDC has grown and expanded through strategic acquisition. The company has bought rival businesses, particularly targeting the acquisition of developed consumer brands in the poultry space.
WH Group – Chinese meat company
Turnover: $21.5bnOperating profit: $1.8bnWH Group is a privately owned Chinese meat and food processing company. In 2013, it acquired the largest pork producer in the US, Smithfield Foods, for a cool $4.7bn. Today, it is the largest pork producer in the world and the largest meat producer in China. It slaughters more than 50 million pigs a year, raising about 19 million of these. Recently, it has been scouting for US and European beef and poultry assets to buy, in a move that would sharpen its rivalry with global meat packers Tyson Foods and JBS.
COFCO - Chinese food commodities trader
Turnover: $64.5bnOperating profit: $266mChina’s state-owned grain-to-real estate conglomerate has recently embarked on an overhaul of its operations as part of Beijing’s effort to make the country’s sprawling government-owned entities more efficient. It has transformed from a manufacturer of grain and oil products to a fully integrated food business from farm-to-fork.
Three years ago, it bought a 51% stake in Dutch trader Nidera for $1.5bn. It is investing $1.5bn overseas under its ‘One Belt, One Road’ strategy.
BRF – Brazilian meat processor
Turnover: $9.7bnProfits: $882mBRF, formerly Brasil Foods, another Brazilian food company focused on poultry, pork, beef, dairy and processed food, is the largest poultry producer in the world. However, with BRF losing one sixth of its market value as a result of the recent Brazilian meat corruption scandal, it may dampen its current appetite for acquisitions.
Bright Foods – Chinese food multinational
Turnover: €10bnProfit: N/AAlthough not a meat processor, China’s Bright Foods, a state-owned multinational food manufacturing company, has been aggressively acquiring food companies recently. In 2014, the company acquired a 56% stake in Tnuva, Israel’s largest dairy company. One year later, it acquired a 50% stake in New Zealand meat company Silver Fern Farms for $190m. It recently sold its stake in Weetabix to Post Holdings for $1.8bn. It’s New Zealand subsidiary, Synlait Milk, recently acquired The New Zealand Dairy Company (NZDC).
Charoen Pokphand Foods – Thai food conglomerate
Turnover: $14bnProfit: $440mCharoen Pokphand Foods is a Thailand-based privately held company with vertically integrated operations in feed, pig, poultry and fish processing. It has been looking to buy assets overseas to boost growth and offset a slowdown in its home market. Last year, it acquired US frozen-food producer Bellisio Parent in a $1.1bn deal, which is in line with CPF’s strategy to expand into high-potential markets.
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: