Thai Union to acquire majority share of German seafood canner

After calling off its pursuit of an acquisition of Bumble Bee Seafoods earlier this month, Thai Union Group has set its sights on a new seafood canning company – Rugen Fisch AG of Germany.

Thai Union entered into an agreement on 21 December to acquire a majority stake in Rugen Fisch from the Brinkmann Family. By the end of January 2016, TU hopes to have acquired 51 percent of Rugen Fisch, bar disapproval from German authorities, said the major supplier. The Brinkmann Family will retain 49 percent of the business.

"Germany is one of the largest seafood markets and part of our strategic pillars for growth in Europe. Through this partnership with Rugen Fisch, Thai Union becomes a market leader in Germany and further strengthens its position as one of the European seafood leaders," said Thiraphong Chansiri, president and CEO of Thai Union.

If the deal were to succeed, Thai Union would add 2 percent to its group revenues and therein move closer to its lofty goal of hitting USD 8 billion in annual sales by 2020.

Rugen Fisch is known for supplying mackerel, herring and salmon under its various brands including Rügen Fisch, Hawesta, Ostsee Fisch and Lysell; private-label products are also sold by Rugen Fisch. Revenues for the company are over EUR 140 million (USD 151.9 million). Approximately 850 people work for the German canner, mainly within four processing facilities in Germany and Lithuania.