AGRINURTURE Inc., the country’s only listed agribusiness firm, is looking to snap up a number of small- to medium-sized agriculture companies in China, Hong Kong and Indonesia as part of its regional expansion push.
In a recent interview, AgriNurture chairman and chief executive officer Antonio Tiu said the target companies are valued from $1 million to $3 million each.
At this point, he said talks with the target firms are still ongoing.
“It will help us expand our reach. Instead of exporting, we are going to [their] domestic [markets],” Tiu told reporters. “We are going to bring the AgriNurture model to every country.”
AgriNurture is into what it calls “farm-to-plate” business concept, meaning it handles business activities from farming, packing, trading, distribution, processing, canning and up to retail sales.
The company has been eyeing overseas expansion, given the strength of its export business, Tiu said earlier. He said overseas sales could double or triple this year on the back of strong demand.
AgriNurture already supplies fruits such as mangoes, coconut, banana, pineapple and papaya to markets in China, the Middle East, North America and Europe.
In addition, AgriNurture in July acquired Philippine-based Hansung Agro Products Corp., which holds a license to export fresh mangoes to Japan and South Korea. The deal was worth P10 million.
In terms of local acquisitions, the company also plans to acquire a coconut factory in Southern Luzon and a banana factory in Mindanao before the end of this quarter, a stock exchange filing showed earlier.
AgriNurture, which listed by way of introduction in 2009, plans to raise between P1 billion and P1.5 billion through an initial public offering in the fourth quarter.
Before this, the company will hold a P500-million stock rights offering and is set to receive a $10-million infusion from an overseas fund. AgriNurture is also listed in Australia.
AgriNurture saw first-half net income rise almost a tenth to P15.6 million as sales jumped 34 percent to P602.05 million.
Shares of the company added 0.92 percent to P15.26 apiece on Friday’s close.
