Pioneer Foods to aquire all of Heinz Foods SA

Cape Town - Pioneer Foods on Monday announced that it is set to acquire full ownership Heinz Foods SA – makers of the famous tomato ketchup. 

Other brands in the Heinz Foods SA stable are Wellington’s sauces and condiments, the John West range of canned seafood products, the Today range of frozen prepared meals, and Mama’s meals, pies and pastries.

In a market update at 17:00, Pioneer [JSE:PFG] said that Heinz Foods SA will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Pioneer Foods in 2018. 

“By acquiring full ownership of Heinz Foods SA, we look forward to the further growth and development of the portfolio that includes a range of number one or two brands in their respective categories,” said Pioneer Foods CEO Tertius Carsten in statement. 

It did not say how much it would be paying for the outstanding 50.1% of Heinz Foods SA. 

Pioneer, which sells a number of well-known brands including Sasko, Weet-Bix, Ceres fruit juice, White Star maize meal and more, said it would also be entering into a two-year agreement with Kraft Heinz to manufacture and distribute Heinz tomato ketchup products.

It will also distribute HP & Lea Perrins products and certain other Kraft Heinz Products. 

 “We believe this change is an excellent opportunity for the business and our employees to leverage Pioneer Foods’ existing scale and platform in South Africa to grow the business further,” said Felipe Guimaraes, Managing Director of Kraft Heinz Middle East and Africa, in a statement. 

Pioneer said the transaction was expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2018. 

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