ASX listed Buderim Group has received an $8.3 million offer for its ginger business from Global Foods Group as it sets its sights on international expansion of its Macadamia business.
Buderim's ginger division assets include the Ginger Factory, a tourist attraction and production facility at Yadina, Queensland; the brands Buderim Ginger and The Ginger Factory; and subsidiaries Frespac Ginger in Fiji and Ginger Head Quarters.
Buderim Group CEO Andrew Bond told Food & Drink Business it was an exciting time as the proposed sale now moves into due diligence and shareholder approval process.
A 2018 company-wide strategic review looked at how to restore the business to profitability, which it achieved. Bond said: “The review was a successful process in that it showed few synergies between the ginger and macadamia businesses when looking at how to go forward. We sought expressions of interest from a handful of prospective buyers. It was a selective marketing process, looking for a true custodian of the brand.
Buderim Chair Guy Cowan said: “Focusing investment in the company’s macadamia business is likely to produce higher returns than a comparable investment in the ginger division. Ginger’s future growth and pathway to improved returns lies therefore with an owner that can provide the investment to make it happen.”
Bond said: “It is a great opportunity to attract new investment to the ginger business. It is being sold as a going concern and Global Foods has already committed to investing a material sum into the business.
“The plan is to cement our position in the Australian growing heartland of ginger as a ginger centre of excellence. Global Foods is a good fit and has been a strong supporter for a long time. It’s a natural progression.”
Principal shareholder and executive chair of Global Foods Group George Vasili also has a 15.85 per cent interest in Buderim Group. Cowan said Vasili intends to invest in the ginger business in its new form as a privately-run operation.
Vasili said: “As a long-term substantial shareholder in the Buderim Group, I support the proposed new direction and I intend to remain a shareholder.”
He said the ginger business had “great synergy” with Global Foods. “We are in the unique position to invest the required capital and expertise to enable the ginger division to continue into the future,” he said.
Cowan said the company would concentrate on becoming a dominant player in branded macadamia products and other opportunities in health and plant-based protein food product markets.
Bond will stay on as CEO of the ginger business, transferring to Global Foods. He has been with the company for six years, three as CEO. Prior to that he worked with Capilano Honey in a number of roles.
The company will also be proposing a name change to shareholders, to become Health and Plant Protein Ltd.
