Shareholders in leading Australian fresh produce group Moraitis haveretained Ernst & Young to help assess strategic options that could lead to the sale of the entire business over the next 12 months, Produce Plus Magazine understands.
While no decisions appear to have been made to date, Moraitis has reportedly received a broad range of expressions of interest from local and offshore parties.
The reports appear to underline that recent developments with Turners & Growers and Costa Group are attracting growing investor interest in the Australasian fresh produce business.
Only last week, German company BayWa Aktiengesellschaft, a major supplier of fresh fruit to the retail trade and the country’s largest supplier of organic topfruit, won the right to buy all the shares in New Zealand fresh produce company Turners & Growers (T&G) that are owned by investment company Guinness Peat Group. If approved, the deal would give the German company a 63.4 per cent shareholding in T&G.
Other companies understood to have considered bidding for T&G included US private equity firm Paine & Partners and Australian grower-packer-marketer Costa Exchange.
Earlier this year, Costa Group received a major capital injection when it sold a 50 per cent stake in the business to Paine & Partners, a specialist in agribusiness investment. While ownership is split 50:50, the Costa Group’s existing management team – led by chairman Frank Costa and CEO Harry Debney – remain in charge of running the operation but the backing of its equity partner is set to fuel expansion.
Commenting on the deal back in July, chairman Frank Costa said: “The Costa Group board and family believe this arrangement with Paine & Partners offers both financial resources and the opportunity for management and employees to pursue long term strategic growth.”
Moraitis provides growing, packing, transport, wholesaling, ripening and pre-packing operations in the hard produce, hydroponic tomato and banana markets. The Sydney-based company is 49 per cent-owned by Catalyst Investment Managers, one of the leading private equity firms in the Australasian market and it is thought to have earned EBITDA of around A$35m in the 2011 financial year.
