Chinese bidder the only Bright spot in Manassen sale process

Source: Supplied

PRIVATE equity group CHAMP has yet to generate any pricing tension in its planned sale of food importer and manufacturer Manassen, with China's Bright Foods the only potential buyer to have expressed an interest.

In its latest attempt to buy food assets outside its native China, Bright has been negotiating with CHAMP in recent weeks over a proposed acquisition of Manassen, the company behind dried fruit manufacturers Sunbeam and Angas Park, as well as cheesemaker Margaret River Dairy.

Manassen Foods had earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of $50.4 million for the 2009-10 financial year, suggesting a purchase price of about $550m, based on the earnings multiple of 11.5 times that analysts estimate Japanese brewing giant Asahi paid for New Zealand beverage group Charlie's earlier this month.

CHAMP, which declined to comment on the sale negotiations, is being advised by Nomura, while Manassen has retained UBS and Bank of America.

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Manassen was purchased by CHAMP in 2006 for an undisclosed price, and has since been expanded by more than a dozen purchases in the food sector, of which the first --Sunbeam -- was completed just months after the initial takeover.

Manassen also imports a wide range of European food brands, including Babybel and Castello cheese, Walker's shortbread, Carr's and McVitie's biscuits and Jelly Belly confectionary, as well as holding the Australian rights to the Ryvita crispbread brand.

The Shanghai-based Bright Foods has been an enthusiastic but unsuccessful bidder for food assets over the past year, missing out on CSR's sugar division last year and a 50 per cent stake in French yoghurt producer Yoplait in March. A memorandum of understanding signed with the NSW government a year ago which was supposed to generate investment opportunities for Bright in Australia is also understood to have fallen over.

Bright was also reported earlier this month to be considering a purchase of Treasury Wine Estates, the former Foster's wine unit. However a Bright company spokesman said while the company was keen to expand into overseas markets, it had no plans to bid for Treasury.

Bright has also been reported as a potential buyer of American nutritional retailer GNC as well as Britain's United Biscuits, but has failed to complete any deals.

The company's biggest success to date is an $NZ82m ($63.8m) deal to take a 51 per cent stake in New Zealand dairy processor Synlait Milk, itself a subsidiary of China Synlait, announced in July last year.