RFM buys Unilever’s Royal pasta for P2B

MANILA, Philippines – Food and beverage company RFM Corporation of the Concepcion family will acquire the Royal pasta business of the Unilever group for P2.1 billion.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday, January 16, RFM president and chief executive officer Jose Concepcion said the acquisition will strengthen RFM’s leading position in the pasta category.

RFM owns Fiesta, the number one pasta brand in the Philippines, while Royal ranks number two. Both brands offer spaghetti, macaroni, pasta and sauce bundles in the market.

Concepcion said the purchase would be funded in part by proceeds of the company’s P1.62-billion top-up rights offering last October.

The buyout is expected to buoy RFM’s gross sales, and will more than compensate for the lost revenues it incurred when it sold its Swift meat business in late 2012 to the Century Canning group for P850 million.

More acquisitions

Concepcion said that RFM will continue to explore acquisitions that will expand its share of the food and beverage market in the Philippines.

He added that his group is looking at the option of offering ready-to-cook and affordable pasta meals to Filipino consumers to grow the pasta market.

Aside from pasta, RFM also sells Selecta ice cream in partnership with Unilever. 

It also owns other brands such as White King cake and sauce mixes, Selecta milk, and Sunkist drinks.

RFM recently inked a distribution agreement with global packaged pineapple and fruit dealer Dole, as well as condiments maker Marca Pina. – Rappler.com