Thai strategic buys stake in PE-backed US restaurant chain Red Lobster

The investment is intended to expand Thai Union's options for direct marketing to consumers and to expand its partnership with Red Lobster; Thai Union has worked with the restaurant chain as a supplier for more than 20 years. Golden Gate partially exited its stake in the company, but will retain ownership and operational control, according to a filing.

Thai Union is a leading global seafood supplier. It ships many seafood varieties worldwide, including lobster, crab, shrimp, mackerel and tuna, and owns a number of seafood brands including Chicken of the Sea and King Oscar. In its most recent annual report the company recorded revenue of THB126.9 billion ($3.6 billion) for the fiscal year 2015, up from THB122.7 the year before. Profit rose from THB19 billion to THB19.5 billion over the same period. Last year Thai Union was accused of buying shrimp from subcontractors that used slave labor; in response it ceased all subcontracting arrangements and brought its shrimp processing operations fully in-house.

Red Lobster operates in North America, the Middle East, Japan and Malaysia; it has been owned by Golden Gate since 2014. For the year ended August 2016, the company generated sales of $2.5 billion, with EBITDA of $144 million.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• North America
• Consumer
• Trade sale
• Thailand
• USA
• Exit