Friday, June 17, 2011

Goldbug100 - Lonrho completes acquisition of South African seafood wholesaler Fish On Line

15 June 2011
share price at the time of publishing
12:07PM 20.54 Up 0.79
5.06%





Lonrho (LONR.L) completed a share purchase agreement to acquire a 51% equity interest in seafood wholesaler Fish On Line (Pty) Limited ("Fish On Line"). The existing management of Fish On Line will remain in place to develop and grow the company and to add depth to the management expertise available to Lonrho's seafood division.

Fish On Line is based in Cape Town, South Africa, and operates bulk cold storage and fish processing facilities. The company operates as a wholesaler of quality seafood and imports and exports a wide range of seafood to and from global markets. Products handled by Fish On Line include: Prawns, Salmon, Pangasius, Hake and Kingklip.

In the 12 months ended 28 February 2011 Fish On Line reported turnover of ZAR 66.4 million (£5.9 million) and profit before tax of ZAR 1.7 million (£0.15 million). As at 28 February 2011 Fish On Line had gross assets of ZAR 24.4 million (£2.2 million).

The Company has acquired the 51% stake in Fish On Line for ZAR 3.5 million (£320,000) in cash. Pursuant to the share purchase agreement, the sellers have been granted a put option to sell their remaining 49% to Lonrho three years after the signature date at a purchase price of a 6x multiple of Fish On Line's profit before tax for the 2014 financial year end, which is capped at a maximum of ZAR 35.0 million.

David Lenigas, Lonrho's Executive Chairman commented:

"The acquisition by Lonrho of Fish On Line strengthens Lonrho's fish division and provides Lonrho further access to and knowledge of the global wholesale fish market. Fish On Line brings strong synergies with Lonrho's current retail focused activities in the sector both in the African and global markets."

Company Website - http://www.lonrho.com/

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