Alliance Select completes purchase of 80% of NZ salmon firm

MANILA, Philippines - Alliance Select Foods International Inc. has completed the purchase of 80 percent of New Zealand salmon firm Akaroa Salmon NZ Ltd. for NZ$2.8 million (approximately P96.6 million).

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Alliance Select said it would invest an additional NZ$126,881 (equivalent to P4.38 million) as working capital in Akaroa.

Funding for the acquisition will come from proceeds of the company’s sale of 60.669 million shares amounting to around P97.07 million. The shares, comprising 6.57 percent of the expanded capital, were sold at P1.60 each through a private placement.

Formed in 1985, Akaroa is a thriving niche producer at the highest end of the quality salmon market, supplying New Zealand’s leading chefs and discerning diners with premium fresh and smoked salmon products.

Akaroa also holds a 20 percent stake in Salmon Smolt NZ Ltd., a modern hatchery guaranteeing high quality and consistent supply of smolts for Akaroa’s farms.

Akaroa’s founder owns the remaining 20 percent of the NZ firm. His son Duncan Bates will retain his position as general manager of the company.

Alliance’s investment will enable Akaroa to double its farming capacity in the coming years and support its plans to be an export leader into key high-end markets globally.

Alliance said the investment is in line with its goal of becoming a significant player in the global salmon industry.

The investment will give Alliance Select direct access to raw materials.

It will also allow Alliance Select to target an additional market segment by offering Akaroa’s fresh portion cuts to institutional and retail buyers like hotels and restaurants in markets like Singapore, Hong Kong, USA, South Korea and Japan.

Alliance Select has grown its salmon business five-fold from $4.2 million in 2009 to an expected turnover of $23 million this year. 

The company produces over 200 metric tons of processed seafood daily, supplying hundreds of successful brand name companies across 60 countries around the world.

Alliance Select   has three factories in Gen. Santos City with a production capacity of 70 tons of tuna a day. It also has a factory in Indonesia that produces 50 tons of tuna a day. 

In addition, the firm has one plant each in the US and Thailand as well.

Around 60 to 70 percent of Alliance Select’s revenues come from abroad. The group’s biggest markets include UK, France, Germany, Netherlands and the US.