Bounty Brands expands into Poland, spends R1.2bn on two tasty food deals

* This content is brought to you by Bounty Brands, a consumer brands business focussed on apparel, food, and personal and home care products.

Cape Town, 27 November 2015: Coast2Coast’s consumer brands business Bounty Brands has made two food acquisitions in deals with a combined value of over R1.2 billion.

Stefan Rabe, Bounty Brand’s CEO
Stefan Rabe, Bounty Brand’s CEO

Bounty has bought Liberty Foods in South Africa and closed its first international acquisition, buying Sonko, a leading producer of rice cakes, rice, groats and dry bread products in Poland. According to Stefan Rabe, Bounty’s CEO, Sonko has a dominant market position in Poland. “Sonko is a fantastic business with a 20-year track record. Not only is it the market leader in rice, rice cakes and crisp bread, but it is also making a name for itself in the fast-growing Healthy Snacks category.”

Sonko produces under the Sonko, Risana, Albaris and PopCool brands, but also does some private label business with major Polish retailers. Its products are exported to 22 countries throughout the world, including South Africa, where Sonko rice cakes and crisp breads are sold through leading retailers. “Sonko has focused on becoming the market leader in Poland, but having achieved this, it is well positioned to grow its exports significantly,” adds Rabe.

Rabe says Bounty is upbeat about investing in Poland. “We are certainly not the first local business to invest there. In fact, Poland has been somewhat of a success story for South African businesses. It is well situated geographically and presents the right combination of opportunity and infrastructure.” Coast2Coast Investments and Bounty Brands will now set up an office in Europe to pursue complementary acquisitions.

Read also: Bounty Brands reaches R1b through strong growth

Bounty’s international expansion is part of a well-defined strategy to diversify its earnings. While the focus on growth in South Africa remains, Bounty and Coast2Coast Investments have teams active in selected international markets, searching for opportunities. “We look for profitable and defensible businesses, with a long track record of selling trusted brands. In Sonko we have found a business that ticks all the boxes.

Liberty Foods, Bounty’s first South African food acquisition is the second largest supplier into the local food services industry. “With the food services sector growing at 10% over the past five years, Liberty is both an excellent investment and a well-established distribution channel for future investments in local food brands”, says Rabe. With branches in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, Liberty Foods reaches over 600 food distributors with its own Chef and Liberty brands.

Together, the two food acquisitions are expected to add R850-million a year to Bounty’s annual revenue, bringing total revenue to just short of R2-billion. The deals form part of the company’s strategy to grow revenue to over R5 billion in the next two years in the run-up to an eventual listing.

About Bounty Brands:

Bounty Brands is a fast growing, diversified consumer goods company investing in premium brands in chosen local and international markets. It was founded in February 2014 by Coast2Coast Investments, the same group that listed Ascendis Health in 2013, is an investment holding company.

Bounty has three divisions: Bounty Wear, Bounty Foods and Bounty Home & Care. It previously announced 5 acquisitions: Chappers Sports Direct, Table Charm, Cosmetix, Annique Health and Beauty, and Musgrave Agencies, with combined revenue of R1bn. Bounty Brands represents or owns brands such as Vans, Hurley, Jeep, essence, Catrice, Annique, Caribbean Tan, Table Charm and Style. Bounty Brands is headquartered in Steenberg, Cape Town, but also has offices in Johannesburg and its executive team consists of Stefan Rabe (CEO) and Peter Spinks (CFO), with Nick Badminton as Non-executive Chairman.

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