July 23, 2018
Aboitiz Group acquires 75% stake in Gold Coin
Golden Springs Group (GSG) owned by the Zuellig family, a wealthy Swiss-based healthcare mogul, sold 75% stakes of one of Asia's largest animal feed manufacturers, Gold Coin, to Pilmico International Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Aboitiz Equity Ventures.
The deal is valued at US$550 million and GSG will retain a 25% stake in the company.
Established in 1953, Gold Coin employs 2,600 people and runs 19 production facilities in nine countries, according to its website information.
With a milling capacity of about 3.1 million tonnes per year, its net revenue as of December 31, 2017 was US$751 million.
"The Zuellig and Aboitiz families have known each other for generations. We are excited about this partnership with one of the largest and most established conglomerates in the region. The partnership will strengthen Gold Coin's profile and long-term value creation potential," Peter Zuellig, GSG Chairman said.
He added, "Our decision to continue retaining a minority stake ensures that we are able to participate in Gold Coin's strong growth potential as it executes on its expansion strategies together with Pilmico."
Pilmico on the other hand, is an integrated agribusiness and food company, with operations in the Philippines and Vietnam, exporting its products to most ASEAN countries including Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Hong Kong.
"The integration of Gold Coin and Pilmico is expected to generate substantial synergies for both companies," Gold Coin's general manager, Gerald Wilflingseder shared.
With ASEAN's market size of US$500 million, the merger will bring about plenty of opportunities to expand Pilmico's customer base.
"This acquisition serves as a platform towards achieving Pilmico's strategy to grow our core feed milling business beyond ASEAN and now across Asia, adding three million tonnes of volume, which quadruples our overall feed production capacity," Aboitiz Equity Ventures COO and Pilmico president and CEO, Sabin M. Aboitiz revealed.
