Tokyo, Japan-based Maruha Nichiro, the largest seafood company in the world by revenue, announced on 10 January that it has acquired a Vietnamese seafood processor, with the deal expected to close later this month, according to Maruha Nichiro.
In a filing with the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Japanese company said its board of directors approved the purchase of a majority stake in Sai Gon Food Joint Stock Company, which is headquartered in Vietnam’s economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City.
Maruha Nichiro will own more than 11.58 million shares of Sai Gon Food after the deal, which is equivalent to 57.93 percent of voting rights, the Japanese company said. It did not list a purchase price. The share transfer is expected to be completed by the end of this month.
Sai Gon Food, established in 2003, supplies processed seafood products with a focus on the Japanese market, where its top-selling item is salmon sushi. It also sells seafood in the United States and Australia. It is also a leading supplier of frozen and retort packed foods, notably the porridge and hotspot items, for Vietnam’s fast-growing domestic market, and has expanded into sales of baby food in recent years.
Maruha Nichiro and Sai Gon Food initially established a business relationship in 2017, with Sai Gon Food providing packaged seafood products to Maruha Nichiro in exchange for technical support to help improve Sai Gon Food’s production technology and business development.
“The company has decided to acquire Sai Gon Food in order to secure a new marine product processing base and to acquire a platform for the development, manufacturing, and sales of processed foods,” Maruha Nichiro said.
Maruha Nichiro said amidst stark changes in the global food supply chain during the COVID-19 pandemic, the acquisition of Sai Gon Food will help it to continue to supply safe and easy-to-store products, especially for consumer markets worldwide.
“[Maruha Nichiro] considers Sai Gon Food to be the best partner to secur our position to become a general food company that produces and sells marine products and processed foods globally under the Maruha Nichiro brand,” it said.
Photo courtesy of Sai Gon Food
