(BRK.A), (BRK.B)
Kraft Heinz is expanding its brands marketed in Australia and New Zealand with its purchase of the Cerebos food and instant coffee business from Japan’s Suntory Group.
The purchase price will be A$290 million and includes popular brands such as the Gravox gravies, which is one of the all-time great Australian brands, and traces its roots back to 1917.
Cerebos’ Food & Instant Coffee business includes iconic food brands in Australia and New Zealand such as Fountain, Gravox, Saxa, Foster Clark’s, Gregg’s, Bisto, Raro and Asian Home Gourmet. The business has market-leading brands across a number of categories including sauces, gravies, herbs & spices, salt, condiments, Asian sauces, desserts and cooking ingredients.
The sale agreement does not include the Cerebos Fresh Coffee business in Australia/New Zealand, which SBF will retain.
Cerebos Australia and New Zealand is a trans-Tasman integration of two companies, Cerebos (Australia) Limited and Cerebos Gregg’s Limited in New Zealand. Our parent company, Cerebos Pacific Limited, is based in Singapore and has been wholly owned by Suntory Limited, a Japanese global food and beverage group. Within this structure, the companies have operated with a great deal of autonomy.
Kraft Heinz is the fifth-largest food and beverage company in the world and has a strong platform in Australia and New Zealand, with a staple of well-known brands such as Heinz, Kraft, Wattie’s, Eta and Golden Circle in categories including beans & spaghetti, sauces, soups, sauces & dressings and many others.
Bruno Lino, CEO of Kraft Heinz Australia and New Zealand, who will lead the combined business, said: “The transaction provides an exciting opportunity for Kraft Heinz to expand its portfolio into complementary categories, stretching the footprint of Cerebos’ brands into new categories and markets.”
“In addition to the iconic local brands, Cerebos has a strong team that will play an important role in our future growth. This transaction reinforces our commitment and long-term plan to the Australia and New Zealand markets in addition to our significant investment in the Kraft brand for 2018. We will continue investing in our brands, factories and our employees to meet consumer needs and expectations,” he said.
Terry Svenson, CEO of Cerebos Australia/New Zealand, said the company was pleased with the outcome of the transaction.
“As we announced in April 2017, the Food & Instant Coffee business has a number of market-leading brands across Australia and New Zealand and has made significant progress in recent years, particularly in relation to improvements in manufacturing efficiency. However, Food & Instant Coffee is not a core focus category for SBF and we believe this business can be maximised under different ownership. The Food & Instant Coffee business will now have opportunities to leverage Kraft Heinz’s operations to grow the business further.”
The transaction is scheduled to close in the first quarter of 2018, subject to regulatory approvals.
© 2017 David Mazor
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.