Marel sells Carnitech to private equity company
The Icelandic company said it had inked a deal on Friday with the American Industrial Acquisition Corporation (AIAC) on the sale of the operations of Carnitech A/S in Stovring, Denmark.
Marel said it had posted an €8m loss on the sale - mainly due to the write off of goodwill and revalued assets. No other financial details were available.
AIAC will rename its new company Carnitech. Under the terms of the agreement, it has acquired its operational assets and liabilities, except the real estate, which it will lease back from Marel with a future option to buy.
“Excluded from the agreement are Carnitech’s former salmon and freezing divisions, and its operations in the United States, which are now operated under the Marel name and management,” said a Marel statement. The company pledged to “phase out” the use of the Carnitech brand name in 2010.
Cash injection
“We are delighted to have closed the deal after six month’s negotiations with Marel,” AIAC senior vice president Peter Graham told FoodProductionDaily.com. “We intend to inject considerable funds that will guarantee the stability of the company for the foreseeable future.”
The private equity group said it specialises in turning around companies that are either in difficulties or are no longer deemed as core businesses by previous owners.
Marel said the sale represented an important step in its plan to sell-off “non-core” operations, and instead focus exclusively on the growth of its core fish, meat, poultry and further processing segments of the food processing industry. Earlier this month, it announced it had divested Stork Food and Dairy Systems as part of the same strategy.
Carnitech focuses primarily on the development, manufacturing and sale of equipment for the food processing. The product range includes lifting and discharging equipment, customized handling and storage solutions and thin plate production equipment. In 2009, the unit accounted for 3.7 per cent of Marel’s revenues, with a turnover of €20m.
