Malaysia’s Cocoaland rejects Navis buyout offer

The business comprises two manufacturing arms, Cocoaland Industry and B Plus Q, and four trading divisions, LB Food, Mite Food Enterprise, Lot 100 Food, and Cocoaland Retail. Navis offered MYR2.20 per share for all outstanding shares in the company, a 6.8% premium to the previous close, according to a filing.

The follows an announcement by Cocoaland last month that it had held preliminary discussions with EQT Partners about the possible sale of a majority interest in the business. Fraser & Neave Holdings, which has a 27% stake in Cocoaland, said in February that it was in talks with the private equity firm about an investment in the Malaysian company.

Cocoaland was founded in the 1970s by two brothers selling deep-friend snacks and banana fritters from stalls in the Klang Valley. They moved upstream into manufacturing and distribution and made their breakthrough in the mid-1980s after identifying a market opportunity in packaged drinks. Cocoaland now produces a range of confectionary, snacks and beverages.

The company, which is managed by 10 siblings, listed on the Bursa Malaysia in 2005. Turnover reached MYR260.7 million in 2014, up from MYR254.4 million the previous year. Net profit dropped slightly to MYR21.9 million from MYR22.1 million.

Navis is currently investing its seventh pan-regional fund, which closed last year at $1.5 billion.

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• Consumer
• Southeast Asia
• Southeast Asia
• Malaysia
• Consumer
• buyout
• Navis Management