1 year ago
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(Marmite SA/Facebook/Supplied)
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PepsiCo SA is selling its popular Marmite and Bovril brands in South Africa, along with the business unit that produces them, to a privately owned Canadian-based company called Lallemand.
Lallemand, which is pursuing the transaction through its South African affiliate Rymco, which owns Anchor Yeast, will acquire the two household brands along with PepsiCo's Savoury Food Ingredients business unit.
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024 and is subject to approval from SA's competition authority.
New York-based Pepsi had acquired local brands including Marmite in 2020 following its about R24 billion acquisition of Pioneer Foods.
Lallemand is a family-owned company which focuses on yeasts, bacteria, fungi and enzyme-based solutions. It produces products for the baking, food and health sectors.
The company, which has a presence in more than 50 countries, is also involved in the biofuels and distilled spirits sectors, along with crop protection, nutrition and brewing sectors. It operates more than 50 production plants and has about 5 500 employees.
Apart from producing Marmite and Bovril for Southern African consumers, Pepsico's savoury food business produces brewer's yeast extract and hydrolysed vegetable protein-based flavourings, which is used by both SA manufacturers and international customers.
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Lallemand CEO Antoine Chagnon said Marmite and Bovril would be "highly complementary" to its Anchor Yeast consumer product offering.
He added the group is committed to making biotechnology one of the answers for global issues of health, nutrition and the environment.
"This Savoury Food Ingredients business unit is also complementary to the taste and savoury solutions offered by Lallemand Bio-Ingredients business to its global food manufacturing customers. The proposed acquisition demonstrates Lallemand ongoing commitment to the Southern African region," said Chagnon.
PepsiCo South Africa CEO Riaan Heyl said the sale of the unit is in line with the "company's vision to win in the marketplace with a simplified and focused product portfolio".
"We feel Anchor Yeast's expertise in this sector makes it well-placed to take on and further develop this opportunity."
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