FOOD and beverage firm Century Pacific Food Inc. (CNPF) said Thursday that it was acquiring 100 percent of Misamis Occidental-based coconut processing facility Coco Harvest Inc. for $40 million.
“This deal is an accretive acquisition. More importantly, it marks a significant milestone for the company,” CNPF President and Chief Executive Officer Ted Po said.
“Our coconut business, encompassing both domestic and export, has grown substantially these past few years on the back of burgeoning trends in health and wellness,” he added.
CNPF said the $400-million capital expenditure would be financed by internally generated cash flow. The purchase price was said to be less than 5 percent of CNPF’s total assets as of end-December 2023.
The added capacity from Coco Harvest “will bolster our capability to serve rising demand, with room for expansion as the business grows,” Po said.
Built in 2016, Coco Harvest was described as a fully integrated facility sitting on a 6-hectare property “strategically located to capitalize on the abundance of coconut supply in the region.”
CNPF said Coco Harvest “has the capability to produce higher value coconut-based products such as coconut water, coconut milk, desiccated coconut and virgin coconut oil.”
Po said the company expected the business to outgrow the facility’s current capacity and had plans to expand in the future.
“We are encouraged by the long-term growth trajectory of our coconut business,” he said. “From where we started, it has evolved to become globally competitive in the category through the team’s commitment to excellence and innovation.”
CNPF’s acquisition of Coco Harvest is expected to generate over 1,500 manufacturing jobs in Mindanao, create demand for auxiliary services and also provide market access for coconut farmers in the region.
Last March, CNPF signed an expanded long-term agreement with The Vita Coco Co. Inc. that stipulated increased volume commitments amounting to approximately 90 million liters over the next five years.
CNPF shares rose 85 centavos, or 2.29 percent, to P38 apiece on Thursday amid a 0.38-percent advance for the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index.
Be the first to comment