Latest news with #Florenz
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Wedderspoon Organic owner Florenz strikes deal to buy fellow honey firm Comvita
New Zealand's Comvita has agreed to a takeover bid from fellow Mānuka honey supplier Florenz. Florenz, which owns honey brand Wedderspoon Organic, has offered NZ$0.8 ($0.48) a share for Comvita. In a stock-exchange filing today (18 August), Comvita said its board "unanimously" recommended shareholders vote in favour of the bid. The offer represents a 67% premium to Comvita's closing share price on 15 August, values the company's equity at approximately NZ$56m and giving it an enterprise value of around NZ$119m. "Recent years have been challenging for Comvita and its shareholders, with sustained sector pressures, softer market conditions and the demands of a complex turnaround weighing on performance," Comvita chair Bridget Coates said. "Comvita has faced ongoing pressure from structural changes in the Mānuka honey sector, which continues to face oversupply, price and demand volatility, and intense competition, including online. Florenz is a subsidiary of Christchurch-based Masthead Limited and was set up to develop New Zealand's largest health and wellness export business. Its portfolio also includes supplements exporter Xtend-Life and sports-nutrition brand 2before Performance Nutrition. Coates added: "The environment is fragmented, with several participants under financial strain. Industry dynamics require consolidation at pace but sector leadership demands capital strength, scale and speed, which are not available to Comvita under its current capital structure." In June, Comvita has appointed Karl Gradon, a former CEO of a rival Manuka honey producer, as its new chief executive. From December 2015 to June 2018, he was CEO of New Zealand Mānuka Group. More recently, he was CEO of New Zealand dairy processor Miraka for three years up to this April. The company has focused on repositioning itself as a premium brand, investing in marketing, distribution, supply security and scientific credibility. Coates said: "Significant capital was invested in brand equity, distribution reach, supply security and scientific credibility to position Comvita for this opportunity. A number of these investments did not meet their objectives or deliver expected returns. In parallel, market growth did not materialise at the expected pace, competition intensified and oversupply created additional headwinds, reducing profitability. "Comvita has taken urgent steps to reduce costs, simplify operations, and protect long-term brand strength – which are delivering early results – and the brand remains the category leader in key markets. However, these factors alone are not sufficient to strengthen the balance sheet or position the business for long-term sustainability." June also saw Comvita warn it could book a 'material' impairment charge for the 2025 financial year, which closed at the end of the month. Commenting on trading conditions Coates said today they 'remained challenging', with the group expecting a 'significant loss' as well as a 'material write-down' of net assets as a result of impairment tests against inventories. She added: "Comvita's lenders are providing short-term accommodation but have signalled that a longer-term solution – through debt repayment or potential strategic transactions – is required." Comvita will present its full-year results on 29 August. "Wedderspoon Organic owner Florenz strikes deal to buy fellow honey firm Comvita " was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
RNZ News
2 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
New Zealand's largest mānuka honey producer considers rich lister's takeover bid
Photo: 123rf New Zealand's largest mānuka honey producer Comvita is eyeing a company sale, amid challenging times in the global honey sector. The listed health and wellness company announced on the NZX on Monday morning that its board voted in favour of a bid by Florenz, a subsidiary of investment firm Masthead, to buy the struggling business that just celebrated 50 years in operation. The bid would see shareholders receive a cash price of $0.80 per share, representing an equity value of $56 million and an enterprise value of $119m. The proposed sale would privatise the listed company. The takeover offer came amid extremely challenging times for the company and the wider honey sector in recent years, as international customers stockpiled honey through the Covid-19 pandemic and became increasingly competitive on price. In late July, producer King Honey, that was bought by wellness company Me Today in 2021 for $36m, was put into liquidation and receivership due to the global honey glut , among others. Comvita's performance was marred by recent losses, with the latest an after-tax loss of $77m for the 2024 financial year. It expected to report a further significant loss this financial year next Friday. and while it earned modest profits of between $9m and $13m dollars in 2021 to 2023, it followed further losses in 2020 and 2019. The company restructured, saving up to $15m through 2024/25 by reducing the headcount of its leadership and board of directors, staff by 67 people and closing offices. But Comvita chairperson Bridget Coates said the efforts were not sufficient to strengthen the balance sheet for long-term sustainability. "Comvita has faced ongoing pressure from structural changes in the mānuka honey sector, which continues to face oversupply, price and demand volatility and intense competition (including online)," she said in a statement. "The environment is fragmented, with several participants under financial strain. Industry dynamics require consolidation at pace, but sector leadership demands capital strength, scale and speed, which are not available to Comvita under its current capital structure." Coates said the proposed sale would provide "certainty in a time of sustained challenges" in the mānuka honey sector. She was meeting with shareholders on Monday, who must approve the sale proposal as well as the High Court and an independent advisor for the sale to proceed. A management shake-up this time last year saw then chief executive and managing director David Banfield resign, with board chairman Brett Hewlett taking up his role in the interim, and independent director Bridget Coates appointed as chairperson. Karl Gradon left Taupō-based milk processor Miraka to become chief executive at Comvita, effective from 1 August, just over two weeks before Monday's announcement. The company said shareholders China Resources Enterprise and Li Wang, who together owned approximately 18.3 percent of Comvita shares, supported the transaction. Further details and analysis of the offer would be released to shareholders in October, ahead of the shareholder meeting in November. The new scheme would be implemented in December if all conditions were satisfied. Florenz exported vitamins, supplements, pre-workouts, neutraceuticals and herbal remedies, and the company said in a statement the move to buy Comvita would create "the world's largest seller of mānuka honey products." Owner Masthead's chairman and Christchurch rich-lister Mark Stewart said the fundamentals of Comvita remained strong and it was committed to accelerating its growth. "While Comvita has faced challenges in recent years, the fundamentals remain strong. We believe privatisation - enabling substantial debt repayment, an injection of world-class leadership capability, and a sharper focus on high-value product innovation - will deliver a new chapter of growth." One of its latest acquisitions was Wedderspoon Organic Group it bought last year, one of North America's top-selling mānuka honey wellness brands with its range of honeys, lip balms and lozenges stocked in over 23,000 stores. Florenz chief executive officer, Mike Tod said the combination of Comvita and Wedderspoon would create the scale and efficiencies needed to accelerate both brands globally. "This acquisition will strengthen our ability to support global wellbeing through trusted, science-backed products," he said. "Comvita's commitment to innovation, quality, and sustainability perfectly aligns with the values that guide our export growth strategy. We are proud to have the opportunity to keep this iconic company under New Zealand ownership." Comvita was co-founded in the mid-1970s by Alan Bougen and Claude Stratford in Bay of Plenty village Paengaroa and grew to become a leading mānuka honey and bee consumer products business. The B Corp-certified company employed more than 400 people globally across Australia, China, North America, Southeast Asia and Europe, and had more than 1.6 billion bees. 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