Quorn Foods was in the M&A spotlight this week with speculation WhiteWave Foods had held talks to buy the meat-free business. We spoke to Quorn CEO Kevin Brennan to find out more. Elsewhere, Nestle sold its South African ice cream assets to R&R Ice Cream, while in New Zealand, dairy groups moved to reassure consumers their infant formula products were safe following poison threats. In the US, shares in some poultry firms including Tyson Foods and Sanderson Farms plunged after reports of suspected bird flu on an Arkansas farm.
"It's not surprising that people are looking and would expect to see a high interest is in us. If you look at most multi-country food companies, they are struggling to find growth" – Quorn CEO Kevin Brennan tells just-food the meat-free firm's owners have not held sales talks with possible buyers but says it is "logical" there would be interest in the meat-free market.
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"We also believe that African ice cream consumption will continue to increase as consumers become more affluent and we see this acquisition as a springboard to grow sales across much of the African continent" – R&R CEO Ibrahim Najafi announces the acquisition on Nestle's South African ice cream assets.
""We can fully assure our customers and consumers that all of our milk and products are safe and of high quality, and our supply chain continues to be secure and world-class… We have taken immediate and decisive steps to give our customers and consumers added confidence – including increased testing and security measures" – Fonterra CEO Theo Spierings moves to reassure its products are safe after poison threats are made against the New Zealand infant formula industry.
"In view of the uncertainties mentioned FrieslandCampina is not making any concrete predictions regarding the expected results for 2015. Taking a longer-term view the outlook remains positive. As the world’s population grows and welfare increases in many regions the demand for food, and in particular food rich in nutrients including dairy products, will continue rising" – FrieslandCampina said it would not make "any concrete predictions" about its results for 2015 amid uncertainty in emerging markets and the prospect of increasing competition in Europe.
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"No flocks grown for Tyson Foods have been diagnosed with avian influenza. There are always biosecurity measures in place on poultry farms and we've been even more diligent since avian influenza has been in the US this winter" – Tyson Foods insists none of its birds have been affected by bird flu after reports of a suspected outbreak on an Arkansas farm.
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