Bangkok, Thailand-based Charoen Pokphand Foods (CP Foods) is working on a scheme to raise its ownership in CP Pokphand (CPP), its Hong Kong-listed arm, which has aquafeed and livestock operations in Vietnam and China.
CPF currently holds 49.74 percent of CPP, with Japanese trading company Itochu holding 25 percent. The remainder is owned by private individuals and traded publicly.
According to a recent filing submitted to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, CPP said CPF would pay HKD 1.15 (USD 0.15, EUR 0.12) per share, or HKD 6.99 billion (USD 898 million, EUR 776.6 million) in total, to purchase 6.079 million shares from “scheme shareholders” in CPP under its plan to privatize the Hong Kong-based firm.
After the transaction, CPF will increase its ownership at CPP to 75 percent, with the remaining 25 percent held by Itochu.
CPP will seek approval from the stock exchange for the withdrawal of the listing of the company’s shares in the bourse, it said.
The company recorded USD 1.34 billion (EUR 1.16 billion) in sales through its Vietnam operations in the first half of this year, up 8.1 percent year-on-year. Of that total, USD 525 million (EUR 454 million) came from feed production, with 47.3 percent from sales of aquafeed products and 33.8 percent from swine-feed products.
“Our swine-feed sales increased along with the recovering swine population in Vietnam. Also, our aquafeed sales generated solid growth as aqua-farmers raised more shrimp in response to higher export demand,” CPP said in its H1 2021 interim report.
CPP generated a revenue of USD 438 million (EUR 379 million) from its operations in China over January to June 2021, an increase of 14 percent from the same period last year.
“Looking ahead, in view of market uncertainties in our two operating regions – especially on animal protein prices, which showed a downward trend in 1H 2021, and the COVID-19 situation – we remain cautious for the second half of 2021, CPP said.
