Thai Union Frozen Products (TUF) has announced it is acquiring MerAlliance, a French smoked salmon producer.
TUF has not disclosed the terms of the sale, but noted that MerAlliance is the fourth-largest smoked salmon producer in Europe with USD 220 million (EUR 168.7 million) in sales during the last fiscal year.
“This acquisition makes perfect sense, both in terms of strategy and timing,” said Thiraphong Chansiri, President and CEO of TUF (pictured). “The new partnership will enable us to develop further growth opportunities in chilled smoked fish specialties by building on each partner’s strengths and common grounds.
TUF is conducting the acquisition along with its EU-based subsidiary, MW Brands, which is known for producing seafood under the brands Petit Navire, John West, Parmentier and Mareblu.
“The MerAlliance acquisition represents a tremendous opportunity for MW Brands’ expansion strategy and will deliver significant incremental growth,” said Elisabeth Fleuriot, CEO of MW Brands. “Our objective is to build on each partner’s expertise and people capabilities to significantly expand into the chilled seafood category.”
TUF has announced that it has plans to double its revenue by 2020. The TUF announcement indicated that more acquisitions were on the horizon.
“Our strategy is to look for hidden pearls within each of our strategic business categories that can strengthen our position and act as platforms for growth,” Chansiri said. “This is our first acquisition as part of this strategy.”
TUF expects to finish the acquisition in 4Q 2014.
