Monde Nissin buys Quorn for $831M

LOCAL food group Monde Nissin Corp. has completed an $831-million acquisition of UK-based meat substitute producer Quorn Foods as part of its bid to build a global food portfolio.

“Monde Nissin’s acquisition of Quorn Foods will boost the company’s sales further and expand its presence globally,” said Edmundo Soriano, executive vice president of Banco de Oro Unibank, which helped fund the acquisition along with Bank of the Philippine Islands and Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co.

“Its acquisition bid, which bested some of the leading global food giants, is a strong indication that domestic companies adhering to international best practices can very much compete in the global arena,” Soriano said in a press statement on Monday.

Quorn sells “healthy protein” using mycoprotein meat substitute, which is sold as a ready-made meal to replicate burgers, sausages or chicken fillets. It is a market leader in 15 countries and also employs 620 employees in three UK sites, in Germany and in the United States.

The offshore acquisition was completed by Monde Nissin on Oct. 30, marking Monde Nissin’s diversification into categories that focus on health and sustainability.

Quorn is seen as a good fit to this diversification strategy since it also complements the firm’s recent acquisition of Black Swan and Nudie, the leading brand of chilled dips and chilled juices in Australia, respectively.

This takeover by the Philippine-based firm is also seen as a move to expand the Quorn brand to Asia.

Henry Soesanto, chief executive officer of Monde Nission, had said: “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.”

Monde Nissin was advised by Citigroup Global Markets and Courtyard Hill and legally represented by Linklaters.

Best known for its noodle brand “Lucky Me,” Monde Nissin is supposedly preparing to debut on the local stock exchange.

The offering size is estimated between $700 million and $1 billion.

Monde Nissin was put up 35 years ago by low-key entrepreneur Betty Ang, tagged as the “noodle queen” and cited by Forbes Magazine as the 18th richest person in the Philippines with a net worth of $905 million in 2015, climbing in rank from 25th place in 2014. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla