Newlat gives up on Princes. Mitsubishi: “The price is not right”

Of Luke Solomon

Newlat he will never get English again Principals, or, at least, not at the same price. The negotiations, which began at the end of last year and were confirmed in December by the largest Italian agricultural company (more than 600 million euros in revenue from January to September 2023, with total sales of 741.1 million in 2022) have stopped.

Too much risk in the English market

In a letter, the Mastrolia family company explains that “Newlat Food has carried out a detailed analysis of the strategic partnership of Princes and, also taking into account the difficult market environment in the UK, characterized by a decrease in demand and a decrease in power. in the inflation of price, which is expected to lead to pressure on sales volume and to requests for price reductions by sellers, it was considered appropriate to review the previously proposed values. This last offer was not accepted by the seller, Mitsubishi Corporation” (owner of Kings).

Newlat Food – we read more – “will continue to be available to evaluate the operation if the partner is willing to consider the sale again based on the recently proposed value”.

Data at risk

Even if the figures involved are confidential, it appears to be Newlat’s first offering, launched mainly in competition with a London investor. Epirus, was around 700 million pounds (818 million euros) for one hundred percent of the capital. However, nothing accurate and official is known about the value of the second proposal, even if some sources talk about 400 million.

However, the English company (it also operates in Italy thanks to the pharaonic production center of Foggia, specialized in tomato processing), closed 2022 with sales of more than 1.4 billion pounds (about 1.7 billion euros), however, the decrease of faster compared to 1.55 billion in the previous year. But, according to statistics, revealed by the Chiefs themselves, Revenue for 2023 is £1.7 billionso once again in strong development.

Wafalme does not only mean tomatoes: it covers almost twenty types of products which include, to name a few, fish, meat, fruits, vegetables, soups, pasta, oils, desserts…

Founded in Liverpool in 1880, as Simpson & RobertsThe company moved to the Japanese circuit in 1989.

Let’s go back to Newlat. A Reggio Emilia company, listed onEuronext Star of the Milan Stock Exchange since the autumn of 2019, it wanted to assure the market that it will maintain its “accessibility profile, in the continuous search for growth opportunities through external lines, supported by the growing availability of its resources and the presence of important financial partners, who were ready to provide their support perfect for the group in front of this great opportunity and that they will not fail to support us in the future.”

Also read: Newlat food ready for English Kings