Thai Union announced on 20 May it has purchased the remaining 49 percent stake in Germany’s Rügen Fisch from SME Equity GmbH and RüCo Verwaltungs GmbH.
Before the transaction, the Thai seafood giant owned a 51 percent stake in Rügen Fisch, which it bought in 2016. Rügen Fisch supplies ambient and chilled fish including herring, mackerel, salmon, and tuna across Germany to major retailers under key brands including Rügen Fisch, Hawesta, Ostsee Fisch, and Lysell. It also has a significant private label business.
“After this transaction, the company, through Thai Union Germany GmbH, becomes [the] sole shareholder of Rügen Fisch. Thai Union is expecting to drive and accelerate business strategy and increase synergy of the company group,” Thai Union said in a press release.
The Thai company did not provide the purchase price for the remaining shares, but said it was decided based on the criteria of the acquisition of the 51 percent stake, which was equivalent to 6.5 times of Rügen Fisch’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).
Thai Union’s move to acquire more shares in Rügen Fisch comes as the company earlier this month reported strong profits in the first quarter of 2021.
Thai Union posted just over THB 1.8 billion (USD 57.9 million, EUR 47.6 million) in profits for the period, compared to THB 1 billion (USD 32 million, EUR 26.4 million) in 2020 – an increase of 80 percent. Overall, the company’s gross profit for the period was THB 5.5 billion (USD 177 million, EUR 145 million) compared to THB 5 billion (USD 160 million, EUR 132 million) in 2020.
Thai Union attributed the strong gross profit to the “recovery of frozen and chilled seafood,” along with an increase in demand for its pet care products and its value-added business.
Photo courtesy of Rügen Fisch
