Canned fish giant Thai Union Frozen Products (TUF) - which owns the John West brand – has acquired Norwegian seafood brand King Oscar for an undisclosed fee.
The deal comes less than two weeks after TUF agreed a deal to buy French smoked salmon producer MerAlliance.
King Oscar was established in Norway 140 years ago and is the market-leading tinned sardine brand in Norway, the US and Australia. It sold 90 million cans in 16 markets last year, posting sales of $80m.
The acquisition would allow the processor to “leverage our strengths and accelerate growth” in a mature industry with a limited and flat growth rate, said TUF president and CEO Thiraphong Chansiri, and would increase the group’s revenues by an estimated 2% per year.
He added that TUF would continue to seek opportunities as part of a strategy of acquiring top brands to help it achieve a revenue target of $8 billion before 2020.
“It is a relatively small, but highly strategic acquisition for our group. It will give us a unique position and an opportunity to build King Oscar brand in the market worldwide and into our global brand portfolio.”
TUF’s portfolio of brands include Parmentier, Petit Navire, Mareblu, Chicken of the Sea and Sealect.
Chansiri added that the company was committed to taking on “King Oscar’s shared values on responsible sourcing, sustainable business conduct and protection of the nature,” and aimed to deliver double-digit growth in the sardine and mackerel category in coming years.
“By joining TUF, it is truly the moment for an expansive phase for the King Oscar brand worldwide,” said its CEO Geir-Arne Asnes.
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