Thai Union owned 82% of seafood company TUFP prior to the acquisition and the move to snap up the remaining shares is part of a strategy to gain more control in its subsidiary companies.
It bought out the remaining shares from Diversified Food Products (DFP) for a fee of THB1.6bn ($46m). Thai Union now has complete control of US seafood company Tri-Union Frozen products through two subsidiaries: TUNA holds an 82% stake in the company, and Tri-Invest LCC – TUNA’s wholly-owned subsidiary – has gained the 18% stake Thai Union bought from DFP.
Shares in Thai Union Group, which trades on Thailand’s stock market, increased by 0.95% as news of the acquisition was announced on 3 October.
Fully integrate subsidiaries
Thai Union sought the consultation of KPMG to determine the fair market value of the 18% stake in TUFP that DFP owned.
“The acquisition was part of the company’s attempt to fully integrate its interests in all its subsidiaries around the world in order to obtain effective control for the better management and alignment of the group’s strategies, corporate vision, mission and core values,” said Thai Union in a statement.
When asked if the positions of TUFP’s CEO Bryan Rosenberg, executive vice president Paul McCarthy and senior vice president Brenden Beck were safe, a spokesperson said: “We would like to be clear that Bryan, Brenden and Paul have signed long-term employment agreements and will continue to lead COSFF.”
TUFP operates as Chicken of the Sea Frozen Foods (COSFF) and is one of the largest frozen seafood importer and distributor for the US market. Its main products are tuna, prawns, salmon and crab.
TUFP has also recently launched three new pouches of ready-to-eat flavoured salmon to tap into the growing demand for lunchtime protein in the US.