San Miguel to acquire controlling stake in S’pore ice cream maker

Southeast Asia’s largest food and beverage conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has entered into an agreement that will allow it to acquire a controlling stake in Singapore-based ice cream maker King’s Creameries Pte. Ltd.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, SMC said it inked a sale and purchase agreement with Star Fortune Inc. and H&Q Asia Ventures II Ltd. to acquire their combined 76.38 percent interest in King’s Creameries.

Malaysian Dairy Industries Pte. Ltd. (MDI), a Singapore-based dairy manufacturer, owns the remaining 23.62 percent of King’s Creameries.

SMC said the aquisition would give the company a strong position in the region’s growing dairy industry and fasttrack its entry into the Malaysian and Singaporean ice cream market.

"We look forward to concluding our acquisition of a majority stake in King’s Creameries. It is a strong, well-managed business with enormous potential and offers us an important strategic platform for serving consumers across our targeted markets in the Asia-Pacific," SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang said.

With manufacturing operations in Shah Alam and Kuching, a well-established distribution in both Malaysia and Singapore, as well as exports in neighboring countries, King’s Creameries is among the top four ice cream players in Malaysia and Singapore.

King’s Creameries manufactures a wide range of ice cream products in the bulk and single-serve novelties categories. Its major brands include King’s, Dairy Best and N’Joy.

King’s Creameries also produces other ice cream brands under toll arrangement.

King’s Creameries is a highly attractive investment which would advance the SMC Group’s vision of becoming one of the top ten food, beverage and packaging companies in Asia-Pacific, Ang said.