Japan’s Itoham Yonekyu Holdings has expanded its presence in New Zealand’s meat market with the acquisition of beef supplier Greenlea Group.
Tokyo-headquartered Itoham said in a statement the deal for family-owned Greenlea amounts to around NZ$800m ($450.8m) and is subject to regulatory approval.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Struck through Anzco Foods, another New Zealand meat processor owned by Itoham, the transaction is expected to be finalised by the end of August.
Hamilton-based Greenlea, which otherwise trades as Greenlea Premier Meats, generated revenue in the year through September 2024 of NZ$615m and net profit before tax of NZ$59m, according to supplementary details provided by Itoham.
Greenlea operates two processing plants in the Waikato region for grass-fed New Zealand beef.
Itoham said the Greenlea acquisition is part of its long-term 2035 strategy to “strengthen its overseas business base”.
It added that the “basic policy is to enhance its capability to supply animal protein, which is essential as a staple food, and to expand its global supply capacity with a particular focus on the meat business”.
The Japanese business emphasised New Zealand’s sustainability record and its standing as the “world’s seventh-largest exporter of beef”.
Itoham said in the statement: “New Zealand is capable of producing beef in a more sustainable manner compared with other beef-exporting countries. Leveraging its advantageous locations within New Zealand and the strong relationships it has cultivated over many years with local communities and producers, Greenlea has established a business with high efficiency and can create various synergistic values with Anzco.
“Through this acquisition, Anzco is expected to become one of the most profitable meat packers in New Zealand, enabling the company [Itoham] to further strengthen its business foundation in the country.”
Headquartered in Christchurch and led by CEO Peter Conley, Anzco supplies beef and lamb.
In the year through December, the business generated NZ$2.1bn in revenue and NZ$104m in EBITDA, according to the supplementary material.
Net profit before tax was NZ$55m with a bottom-line result of NZ$40m.
Itoham already owned 65% of Anzco before buying up the remaining shares in 2018 from founder and chairman Sir Graeme Harrison and Japanese seafood group Nippon Suisan Kaisha.
