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A Queensland family that revitalised vanilla processor Queen Fine Foods has entered a binding agreement to buy Buderim Group's (ASX: BUG) ginger and tourism business assets for $13 million.
The Himstedt Family's offer is more than 56 per cent higher than a previous bid from Adelaide-based Global Foods Group, whose main shareholder George Vasili also has a 15.86 per cent stake in BUG.
Buderim Group is well-known for its eponymous ginger brand, but a strategic review prompted the decision to focus more heavily on the macadamia business that currently generates around 60 per cent of sales through its operations in Australia and Hawaii with the brands MacFarms and Royal Hawaiian Orchards.
BUG expects the sale to be completed in September 2020, subject to satisfaction of conditions including regulatory approval in Fiji, where it has its subsidiary Frespac Ginger (Fiji) Pte Ltd.
The deal includes that subsidiary as well as Ginger Head Quarters Pty Ltd, all of BUG's ginger-related brands and The Ginger Factory tourist attraction on the Sunshine Coast.
This is not the first time the Himstedt family has taken on the task of steering an iconic Australian food company with historical significance. In 1978 it purchased Queensland's longest-selling food brand Queen, taking it international before selling the company German multinational Dr Oetker in 2015.
"We are pleased to become the next custodian of this iconic Queensland business, and we are excited by the prospects of its potential," says Tom Himstedt.
"We hope that with the knowledge and skills of the existing Buderim Ginger team and our interest in delivering great products, we will together create an exciting new chapter.
"We look forward to furthering the long standing grower and customer relationships, as well as being an integral part of the Sunshine Coast community."
All staff currently employed by the Company with exclusive roles in the ginger division - including the tourism business - will be offered ongoing employment by the buyer.
Buderim Ginger CEO Andrew Bond will transfer with the ginger division but has agreed to join the Buderim Group board as a non-executive director.
"We are very pleased to agree a Transaction with the Himstedt Family thatdelivers optimal value for our shareholders," says BUG chairman Guy Cowan.
"At the same time, it is comforting to see that the new owner is a renowned family in the food business who will undoubtedly further build on the success of the Ginger Division.
"The Transaction will enable the Company to drive actions consistent with its long term business plan to become a dominant player in branded macadamia products and to explore other potential opportunities in health and plant based protein food product markets."
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