Century Pacific buys Hunt's license from Hunt-URC

Century Pacific Food Inc. (CNPF) has bought the Philippine license of North American pork and beans brand Hunt's, a transaction that cover the products and manufacturing assets of Hunt-Universal Robina Corp.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Century Pacific said the deal covers the rights to sell, distribute and manufacture Hunt’s products in the Philippines, currently held by Hunt-Universal Robina Corp. – a 50-50 joint venture between locally listed Universal Robina Corp. and North America's packaged food company ConAgra Foods.

ConAgra will continue to own the Hunt’s trademark globally, the CNPF noted.

The acquisition also covers the inventory and manufacturing assets related to Hunt-Universal's Hunt’s product lineup that includes pork and beans, tomato-based spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce and marinade sauce.

“We are excited about expanding our portfolio with brands and products that resonate with Filipino consumers. Hunt’s is a welcome addition, with its local dominance in pork and beans, its emerging presence in condiments and its potential to be another source of growth for us,” CNPF President and CEO Christopher Po said.

Hunt’s maintains an expanded product portfolio, which includes other tomato-based culinary sauces, and dominates the ready-to-eat canned beans category with an 86 percent market share of the Philippine market.

“This will be an accretive acquisition for us and we see a number of potential synergies. These include synergies in the supply chain, distribution, manufacturing, and marketing,” said Po.

“We also look forward to leveraging on the track record and category leadership that URC has built for Hunt’s here in the Philippines. We are excited to work with ConAgra to further grow the brand locally,” Po added.

URC has shifted focus to its core categories, namely snackfoods and beverages after a strategic review of its portfolio, "which are geared towards convenience and on-the-go occasions," URC President and CEO Lance Gokongwei said.

"Given this shift, URC and ConAgra have decided to spin-off Hunt’s to CNPF as we believe that their strength in the grocery category can further add value and take the brand to new levels of growth in the years to come,” Gokongwei added. — Ted Cordero/VDS, GMA News