Bertin purchases Vigor and increases concentration in the food sector
Valor Econômico - 11/27/2007
In another signal that there is no coming back for the consolidation in the food sector, the Bertin group announced yesterday the purchase of the control of Vigor, which operates in the segment of dairy products and vegetable fats. The announcement, which takes place a little more than a month after Perdigão purchased Eleva and beat Sadia in sales, has raised a question in the market: what will be the next deal? Despite Vigor's, formerly controlled by businessman Carlos Alberto Mansur, having been for sale for at least two years, the acquisition of the share control by Bertin surprised the market. The fact is that the group, headquartered in Lins, stayed out of the trend of beef cold storage houses that went public this year, but when it acquired 56% of the stocks of Goult Participações, which holds 74.69% of Vigor's stock capital, it overcame the situation and strengthened its diversification strategy. The companies have not informed the value of the operation, but Valor has verified that the business was nearly R$ 400 million (US$ 230 million). According to Bertin's finance officer Douglas de Oliveira, the acquisition of Vigor will allow speeding up the growth of Bertin and it is part of the strategy of the company to develop new markets in the animal protein chain. Oliveira said that Bertin's focus with the acquisition is the products of higher added value, such as yoghurts, cheeses, butter and soft cheese (requeijão), which are responsible for 65% of Vigor's sales. Currently, Vigor has three plants in São Paulo - one in the Capital City, one in São Caetano do Sul, and one in Cruzeiro -, Santo Inácio (PR) and São Gonçalo de Sapucaí (MG) and Anápolis (GO). With estimated sales of R$ 6.3 billion (US$ 3.62 billion) this year, from which 38% from exports, Bertin expects to increase its gross revenues to near R$ 8.4 billion (US$ 4.83 billion) in 2008 with the purchase of Vigor.