Nigerian quick-service restaurant chain Tantalizers has acquired Lagos-based fishing company DanBethel Marine Services, carrying out part of its long-term strategic growth plan of venturing into the seafood market and away from a sole focus on fast-food services.
A Tantalizers statement published on the Nigeria Exchange (NGX) said the acquisition was driven by an analysis of emerging consumer trends, especially “the increasing demand and emphasis on sustainable food systems, marine industry opportunities, and seafood as a healthier source of protein.”
The acquisition is expected to be completed over a six-month period that will include obtaining necessary regulatory approvals.
“This acquisition marks a significant step in the company’s strategic expansion into the blue economy space, specifically focusing on industrial trawling, aquaculture, mariculture, seafood supplies, and marine operations,” the firm’s statement said.
The performance of restaurants – both franchises and lone operations – across Nigeria has come under intense pressure from various challenges, such as increasing unemployment that has eaten into disposable incomes, persistent terrorist activities, and growing competition from e-commerce firms offering online food ordering and delivery services, that have forced firms like Tantalizers to adapt.
“This venture aligns with Tantalizers’ new vision of expanding into innovative, more dynamic, and sustainable growth sectors,” Tantalizers’ statement continued.
“DanBethel acquisition is an excellent strategic fit for us as we further invest over the next five years in the company’s fleet to capture significant opportunities in the largely unexplored Nigerian fishing and aquaculture industry,” Tantalizers Chairman Adam Nuru added.
The West African nation has struggled to wean its dependence on imports to meet its demand for seafood. Projects to get more domestically produced products into the marketplace have struggled to get off the ground. Although the Tantalizers move represents a much-needed injection of domestic capital into the industry, experts in the sector have warned that foreign capital is what is really needed to see momentum.
“We can raise some capital in Nigeria but not all of it. The commercial lending rate for Nigeria is high, and that's why we want to match borrowings with foreign investment,” said Emeka Chukwu, the CEO of a development company that has unsuccessfully tried to get a Nigerian fishing port project in motion since 2019.
The Tantalizers acquisition comes just after the chain sold a 35.8 percent stake in its company to new strategic partners, kicking off a change in its ownership structure that included a reorganization of the company’s board of directors.
