Hortifrut, an agribusiness company controlled by the Moller family in Chile and linked to the Quevedo group in Peru, and Alifrut, a subsidiary of Chilean holding Duncan Fox, have announced an equal-shares alliance to create a new company that will become the largest exporter of Chile in its category and a very relevant actor in international markets.
The companies stated that the new company would invest 25 million dollars in the next 24 months, mainly in projects in Chile, the United States, and especially in Peru, where it has its largest short term plans. They also said that they would build a production plant in Peru to boost exports from that country and take advantage of the synergies with the fields and producers that Hortifrut already has.
Assets
Both companies reported that the operation will include the transfer of five frozen production plants, as well as the corresponding fixed assets to the new company that will begin producing and marketing a volume of nearly 35 million kilos. Regarding the process to implement the agreement, the companies stated that the due diligence process was scheduled for March next year, and that the parties were going to make a presentation to the National Economic Prosecutor's Office (FNE) to process its approval.
Plans
The partnership between Alifrut and Hortifrut will seek to increase the efficiency, logistics, and profitability of the production plants according to market needs. Regarding the objective of the alliance - increasing shipments to the United States, Europe, Asia, and Oceania - Alifrut's CEO, Gonzalo Bachelet, said that this operation would allow them to “strengthen the international projection of the company to meet the specific needs of consumption trends, such as fruit mixes, vegetable mixes, smoothies, new flavors, recipes, packaging, formats, and personalized nutritional attributes,” he said.
They already have more than 2,000 hectares of cultivation in Peru
In July of last year, Chile's Hortifrut completed its merger with Peru's Talsa, part of the Rocío Group. This union allowed them to achieve 25% of the world market for berries and blueberries; it also allowed them to increase their cash flow from 60 million dollars to 137 million in the 2017-2018 season.
After the merger, Hortifrut expects the expansion of production in China, Mexico, and the United States to increase sales to more than 700 million dollars.
With this operation, Hortifrut added 2,200 hectares in Peru to the production it already has in Chile, Argentina, Mexico, the United States, Morocco, and China, among other places.
Source: gestion.pe / agraria.pe
