Big plans of Camposol Holding PLC to expand its shrimp business
Peru's largest shrimp exporter Camposol Holding PLC has drawn up plans to give a considerable boost to its shrimp production in the next few years, reports http://www.megafishnet.com/ with reference to Camposol.
In a recent statement Camposol has announced that the company is expanding its shrimp farm business and has acquired the shrimp companies Domingo Rodas S.A. and Camarones S.A, as well as an additional 170 Has (121 net) of shrimp farm.
According to Camposol, Domingo Rodas S.A. was a subsidiary of the Ferreyros Group (Catepillar Peru), focused on shrimp farming. The company owns 150 Has of shrimp farms with a beachfront property of about 5 km. It also leases an additional 50 Has of land. The company had sales revenues of USD 3.5 million in 2009 and an estimated negative EBITDA of USD 0.5 million. Total assets were at USD 5.5 million, with an equity of USD 0.2 million.
Camarones S.A. is a shrimp company owned by individual shareholders which posses 40 Has of shrimp farms.
Camposol is also acquiring an additional of 170 Has (121 net) of shrimp farm located next to Domingo Rodas, owned by Paracas S.A. This farm is called Mar Norte.
The acquisitions are being done through Camposol S.A.'s subsidiary Marinazul S.A, which had revenues of USD 9.4 million and an EBITDA of USD 1.3 million in 2009.
"We are taking advantage of an opportunity to more than double the size of our shrimp business and we see a high strategic fit between our existing and profitable shrimp business and the two companies that we are acquiring," says Fabio Matarazzo, CEO of Camposol.
The purchase price for 100% of the shares in Camarones S.A is USD 0.3 million that has been paid with new shares of Marinazul S.A., which represents 5.45% of Marinazul S.A. after the share issue. The purchase price for 100% of the shares in Domingo Rodas S.A. is USD 150,000 and in addition Marinazul will assume a debt that Domingo Rodas has to Ferreyros, of USD 3.6 million. The loan has an interest rate of 3% and 8 years to maturity. For the Mar Norte shrimp farm, Marinazul will pay USD 700,000 in cash. In addition, a bonus of USD 200,000 is to be paid within 5 years if the prices of shrimp is not lower than USD 3.6/lb. in a 12 months period. Investments in 2010 to upgrade the shrimp farms are estimated to be USD 800,000.
The Company intends to integrate all the acquired companies into its subsidiary Marinazul, and upgrade these to the same level of operational efficiency and profitability as Marinazul. Camarones has already been integrated, and including these acquisitions Camposol will own a total of 560 Has of shrimp farms, up from the 250 Has owned prior to the transactions.
"The Peruvian shrimp industry has been characterized by low profitability the last years. We are confident that we can leverage upon the good results we have shown in Marinazul, who has the operational expertise, the experienced management and a strong R&D focus needed to consolidate the leadership position among the Peruvian shrimp exporters" adds Matarazzo.
