LDC, one of Europe’s largest suppliers of poultry meat, has acquired a majority stake in Asia General Food, a French business operating sushi kiosks in supermarkets.
In a stock-exchange filing, LDC said it had acquired a 60% in Asia General Food, which runs the kiosks under the Sushi Master brand.
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LDC did not disclose how much it paid for the stake but said Asia General Food generated revenue of EUR11.5m (US$13.9m) in 2019, which, the company added, was up 10% on a year earlier. Asia General Food’s EBITDA margin in 2019 was 9%, LDC noted.
Some 30 supermarkets contain Sushi Master kiosks and the company’s founders – who, LDC said, will “remain associated” with the business – want that to grow to 80 in five years’ time. That number of kiosks would “correspond to a turnover of around EUR40m”, LDC said.
Asia General Food will be part of LDC’s convenience-food division, which markets products such as ready meals, pizza and sandwiches.
The acquisition was announced alongside LDC’s half-year financial results. In the six months to the end of August, LDC’s turnover inched up 0.8% to EUR2.12bn. The company’s operating income rose 1.5% to EUR89.7m. Net income was also up 1.5%, reaching EUR66.6m.
LDC said the first six months of its financial year had seen “solid results across all areas”. Turnover was helped by recent M&A. On a like-for-like basis – and at constant exchange rates – LDC’s turnover dipped 1.7% to EUR2.07bn.
The group’s underlying operating income was also up 1.5% at EUR89.7m. LDC said it was targeting that metric to be down by 5-10% over the year as a whole amid pressure on raw-material prices and Covid-19 reshaping consumption patterns over Christmas.
