Netherlands-based Zalmhuys Group has purchased a majority stake in BML Food Group, bringing the company’s total annual revenue to EUR 600 million (USD 694 million).
BML Group is a Hague, Netherlands-based importer and distributor of shrimp and frozen seafood products, supplying for both private label and for its own Ben’s Easy Kitchen brand. The company exports to over 30 countries and has refrigerated warehouses in Lekkerkerk and Breda, Netherlands.
Zalmhuys Group Managing Director Harm ten Napel said the acquisition will aid in Zalmhuys’ expansion beyond salmon.
“We have developed from a salmon business into a broad supplier of fish and seafood. Our aim is to offer customers as much of their seafood range as possible from within one group," Napel said. “BML’s expertise in shrimp fits well with that approach.”
BML was founded in 2007, and according to a release from Zalmhuys, the company’s shareholders engaged Marktlink, which advised BML on the transaction, to identify a strategic partner that could help support its next phase of growth. Ben Slothouber, a major shareholder in BML Food Group, who will remain with the company in a director capacity and as a minority shareholder along with his counterpart Graeme Kerr, said his intention is to gradually reduce his involvement in the company and wanted to ensure any buyer kept the company’s culture.
“For me, it was important that a new owner looked beyond the financials and commercial opportunities and also understood how the company has been built and the principles that underpin the way we work,” he said. “Our discussions with Zalmhuys quickly established mutual trust and respect. They had clearly taken the time to understand our company and the market in which we operate. That combination gave me confidence that BML will be in good hands.”
Napel said Zalmhuys Group does not anticipate absorbing BML Food Group into another of Zalmhuys’ existing businesses and, instead, plans to keep it intact as a standalone business.
“Its strength lies in its independent entrepreneurship, which is why BML will continue to operate under the leadership of Ben and Graeme and retain its own position in the market,” Napel said. “Behind the scenes, we see opportunities to share knowledge and market information, jointly offer complementary product ranges where relevant, and combine our purchasing power in specific areas.”
