A Taste of Wellness for Savoury and Snacks
Givaudan
The company may be undergoing a hostile bid from ingredients company Burns Philp but news today shows that it's business as usual in the Goodman Fielder offices. Australia's largest food company announced that it has sold its remaining ingredients business for A$115 million (€62.6m) and completed its A$800 million (€435.3m) restructuring programme.
The company said that the sale of its remaining Leiner Davis Gelatin business to Belgian Tessenderlo Chemie for A$115 million is above book value and consistent with assumptions in Goodman Fielder's forecasts.
Goodman Fielder chief executive Tom Park said today's announcement was the culmination of more than two years work by the company to divest its non-core assets and focus on its retail branded businesses in Australasia and the Pacific.
"Following our strategic repositioning, Goodman Fielder is now a strongly focused company with 65 per cent of our total revenue coming from our retail branded food businesses," said Mr. Park.
"Goodman Fielder has rapidly changed from a diversified, partly commoditised food and ingredients business to one focused primarily on a high value retail branded strategy," he added.
The sale marks the final step in the company's divestment of its ingredients group.
The sale of Leiner Davis Gelatin follows the divestment of other parts of Leiner Davis to German gelatine business DGF Stoess for A$190 million in March 2002 and Germantown to Danish ingredients giant Danisco for A$197 million in August 2001. Starch Australasian went to Penford company for A$98 million in September 2000.
Goodman Fielder has recently rejected a A$2.4 billion takeover offer from Burns, Philp & Co.