Strauss buys Brazilian coffee company

Giora Bardea  photo: Tamar Matsafi
Giora Bardea photo: Tamar Matsafi

Strauss Group's 3C joint venture will pay NIS 167 million for Mitsui Alimentos Ltda.

Israeli food company Strauss Group Ltd. (TASE:STRS) Strauss Group (TASE: STRS) has bought a Brazilian coffee company for NIS 167 million. The company notified the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange today that its 3C (Tres Coracoes) joint venture in Brazil, which it owns through its Strauss Coffee unit together with Sao Miguel FIP, owned by the Lima family, has signed a deal for the acquisition of 100% of the quotas of Mitsui Alimentos Ltda. in Brazil from Mitsui & Co., Ltd. in Japan and Mitsui & Co. (Brasil) S.A. 3C has agreed to pay 210 million Brazilian reals for Mitsui Alimentos's domestic coffee business in Brazil.

Mitsui Alimentos's roast and ground (R&G) coffee business in Brazil has operated as part the company Mitsui Alimentos since 1974. It holds a 3.8% share of the Brazilian coffee market and is the fifth largest coffee company in the country. Based on the data disclosed to it, Strauss says that 2019 revenue of Mitsui Alimentos totaled 270 million reals (about NIS 245 million)..

"Following the acquisition, 3C joint venture will further consolidate its position as leader of the coffee market in Brazil. The Brazilian coffee market boasts the highest volumes in the world," Strauss said in its announcement. Mitsui Alimentos's coffee green beans export business will remain under the umbrella of Mitsui & Co.,Ltd.

The main brand Café Brasileiro in R&G coffee products has a strong position in the interior of São Paulo State and in the Midwest region of Brazil. Strauss says that as a result, the acquisition will strengthen 3C joint venture's business in these regions.

This transaction follows a series of other acquisitions by 3C in recent years, among them the acquisition of the brands Fino Grão in 2012, Itamaraty in 2014, Cia Iguaçu in 2016 and Manaus in 2019. The transaction is subject to approval by the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) (the Brazilian antitrust authority).

Strauss Group CEO Giora Bardea said, "The coffee company is one of Strauss's four major pillars and will continue to be one of the Group's key growth drivers in the future. Our excellent partnership with the Lima family is today solidifying 3C joint venture´s leadership in the coffee business in Brazil and is a strategic anchor for the coffee company."

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on February 18, 2020

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2020

Giora Bardea  photo: Tamar Matsafi
Giora Bardea photo: Tamar Matsafi
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