Philippines-based Century Pacific acquires local sardine brand

Philippines’ top tuna canner Century Pacific Food (CNPF) has acquired Ligo, a local legacy brand of canned sardine and other marine products, CNPF said in a statement on 24 December.

The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

Under the agreement, CNPF will buy Ligo’s assets and intellectual property used for the manufacturing of its product lineup.

Ligo is one of the most popular sardine brands in the Philippines and has operated in the country for more than 60 years. Its shelf-stable sardines are widely chosen by local consumers thanks to their accessible protein and calcium, CNPF said.

“This will be an accretive, bolt on acquisition. We foresee synergies in selling and distribution, supply chain, and marketing. Moreover, this acquisition is very aligned with our mission to provide affordable nutrition to our consumers,” CNPF Executive Chairman Christopher Po said. “Our company has a long-standing business in the sardines category. We will be leveraging our scale and our experience to create more value for the brand, which will in turn strengthen our core business.”

The acquisition of Ligo is the latest move made by CNPF to enrich its portfolio this year.

In March 2021, CNPF acquired Pacific Meat Co. Inc. (PMCI), a refrigerated food business having its own manufacturing plants, cold chain distribution, and refrigerated products, for PHP 650 million (USD 12.9 million, EUR 11.4 million).

In the first nine months of 2021, CNPF posted a consolidated revenue of PHP 41.1 billion (USD 818.1 million, EUR 722.2 million), surging 12 percent year-on-year. Its net profit in the period also rose 21 percent to PHP 4 billion (USD 79.6 million, EUR 70.3 million) mainly thanks to a recovery in demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic, an increase in exports, and favorable tax rates.

“We are now at the homestretch, grateful for the strong results posted thus far. We continue to expect that CNPF will end the year with a topline growth between 10 to 15 percent and a bottomline growth closer to 20 percent,” CNPF Chief Financial Officer Chad Manapat said.  

Photo courtesy of MDV Edwards/Shutterstock