MOY PARK TO ACQUIRE O’KANE POULTRY
Two of Northern Ireland's leading poultry firms are to come together in a move designed to accelerate market growth and development for the enlarged business.
Moy Park Limited, which is part of the Brazilian food company Marfrig, one of the biggest food companies in the world, has today 25th May 2010 announced its intention to acquire O'Kane Poultry Limited.
Making the announcement, Moy Park CEO Nigel Dunlop said that the coming together of the two businesses would bring significant opportunities for market development and expansion.
Nigel Dunlop said: "The poultry markets of the UK and Europe are growing. By bringing the resources and expertise of Moy Park and O'Kane Poultry together we are creating a business with the scale and sustainability of supply needed to meet the very significant growth opportunities that exist across Europe.
"Moy Park has always been focused on fresh, high quality, locally-farmed and locally-sourced chicken products and acquiring O’Kane Poultry will greatly increase our scale and capacity, including giving us a foothold in the feed milling and turkey meat sector in which O'Kane's is a major player. Both businesses have strong brands and supply networks. The central driver of this deal is to create an even bigger platform for market growth and to build on the significant sales and marketing achievements of both companies.
"O'Kane Poultry is attractive to Moy Park because it complements our existing business model bringing new sources of supply, processing capabilities and market expertise. I am confident that this acquisition will prove to be a very strategic and positive development for the Northern Ireland agri-food sector and enhance the contribution it makes to the wider Northern Ireland economy".
Commenting on the announcement, O'Kane Poultry Chairman Billy O'Kane said: "Established by my father back in 1932 and further developed over the years by my brother Desmond and myself, O'Kane Poultry has always been a business with strong family values and its future, and the future of its workforce, matters deeply to us.
"I believe that today’s announcement is a very positive development and that the business will be well placed in the hands of a highly professional company such as Moy Park also with strong Northern Ireland roots. As part of the larger Moy Park organisation, the future of the producers who supply O'Kane Poultry is assured, as is Ballymena's position as a major centre of employment for the Northern Ireland poultry industry. Overall this announcement is good news for the local agri-food industry and for the wider Northern Ireland economy, and is a sign of Moy Park's confidence in the future of this business".
Moy Park and O'Kane Poultry currently sell around 200 million chickens and 1.5 million turkeys in total per year. Both business play a very important role in sustaining the local poultry farming sector and have contracts with around 760 local producers. The combined company will employ some 8,500 people, approximately 5,000 of them in Northern Ireland.
The acquisition of O'Kane Poultry will be subject to both due diligence and to regulatory approval and it is envisaged that this process may take several months to complete with the conclusion expected in early Autumn.
