Monde Nissin spends P39 B for buyout of United Kingdom food firm

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino snack foods giant Monde Nissin Corp. will bring Quorn Foods, a British meat substitute brand, to Asia following its acquisition of the company for £550 million (P38.9 billion) in a deal announced Thursday in the United Kingdom.

“Quorn got a new owner today, Monde Nissin. Fantastic news as they can help us grow faster and expand to Asia. Defining day for us,” said Quorn chief executive Kevin Brennan.

A consortium of top local banks Banco De Oro, Bank of the Philippine Islands and Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., is extending a loan to Monde Nissin to fund the acquisition, according to a statement posted on Monde Nissin’s website.

“BDO, BPI and Metrobank supported Monde Nissin in this transaction,” the statement said.

Monde Nissin agreed to purchase Quorn from Exponent Private Equity and Intermediate Capital Group in a transaction expected to be completed by Oct. 30.

This is the latest acquisition for the Filipino-owned snack foods giant, which has been building a network of global food brands such as its recent acquisition of Black Swan and Nudie, the leading brand of chilled dips and chilled juices in Australia, respectively.

The company, owned by Filipina billionaire Betty Ang, said the acquisition would make Monde Nissin a diversified global food company.

“Monde Nissin has been investing in on-trend, better-for-you products internationally, in line with our strategy to become a global, diversified food company. Quorn represents an important new leg in our offering. We are excited by the growth potential of the global meat alternatives market, which complements our strategy perfectly,” said Monde Nissin CEO Henry Soesanto.

Simon Davidson, partner at Exponent, said under Exponent’s ownership, Quorn has been transformed into a fast-growing global health brand.

Brennan, for his part, said Quorn aspires to be the world leader in meat alternatives and Monde Nissin’s purchase represents a great step forward in this ambition.

Quorn is an international meat alternatives business, with market leading position in 15 countries.  It has around 620 employees in three UK sites, in Germany, and in the United States.  Its products are available in North America, Europe, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand but not yet in Asia.

Monde Nissin is targeting to list at the Philippine Stock Exchange as early as the second quarter of 2016 or after the May elections, depending on market conditions.

Originally a biscuit manufacturer, Monde Nissin started as Monde Denmark Nissin Biscuit Corp. in 1980.

It then ventured into the instant noodle business with the Lucky Me! brand, now the leading brand in the country.

In 2002, the company acquired M.Y. San Corp., which is behind the Sky Flakes and M.Y. San Graham Crackers brands.

Proceeds of the $300 to $500 million initial public offering would be used to boost operations as the company plans to become a significant food and beverage player in the Asia Pacific region.

Monde Nissin’s owner Ang is hailed by Forbes as the 19th richest person in the Philippines, with a net worth of $905 million in 2014.  The company has been among the Top 1000 companies in the Philippines since 2000.

“Monde Nissin was the first firm in the country to sell pouches of dry noodles to make instant soup, and currently boasts more than a 60 percent share in the market and more than 30 percent of the biscuit sector,” Forbes said.

Monde Nissin is in the list of IPO hopefuls that also includes construction companies D.M. Wenceslao and Datem, and retailer Metro Retail Stores Group of the Gaisano family as well as green architecture firm Italpinas Development Corp.