AEV acquires 75% of Singapore-based animal feeds producer

Conglomerate Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV) has signed a $334-million deal to acquire a 75-percent stake in Singapore-based animal feeds manufacturer Gold Coin Management Holdings Ltd.

The acquisition of Gold Coin —a major producer of animal feeds and operator of 20 livestock and aqua feed mills across 11 countries in Asia—is the largest investment made by AEV’s Pilmico International in Asia Pacific to date.

Pilmico signed a share purchase agreement with British Virgin Islands-registered Golden Springs Group Ltd. (GSG), which is led by the Zuellig group, to acquire majority of Gold Coin following a “competitive” selection process.

“This acquisition serves as a platform toward achieving Pilmico’s strategy to grow our core feed milling business beyond Asean and now across Asia. This acquisition will add three million metric tons of volume which quadruples our overall feeds production capacity,” Sabin Aboitiz, AEV chief operating officer and Pilmico president and chief executive officer, disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday.

Aboitiz said this deal, which would be funded by foreign lenders, had given Pilmico access to the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (Asean) consumer base of over 500 million.

“The Zuellig and Aboitiz families have known each other for generations. I am excited about the partnership with Aboitiz Group. The partnership will strengthen Gold Coin’s growth profile and long-term value creation potential,” said GSG chair Peter Zuellig.

Established in Singapore in 1953, Gold Coin is a pioneer in animal nutrition and the manufacturing of scientifically balanced animal feed within Asia. It is one of the largest privately owned agribusinesses in the region, employing over 3,000 people throughout 20 production facilities.

Gold Coin serves both the livestock and the aqua industries, including young animals and hatchery feed, premixes, concentrates and compound feed. In 2017, it generated net revenues of $751million.

Founded by Peter Zuellig, Golden Springs Group is an enterprise active in the agriculture and healthcare sectors of emerging markets. Through its alliance partner, GSG is also in the distribution of pharmaceutical products.

For its part, Pilmico’s first Asean venture was in Vietnam in 2014 when it bought a 70 percent stake in Vinh Hoan Feeds (VHF), one of the country’s major aquafeed manufacturer. In 2017, it increased its stake to 85 percent.