The deal awaits the customary regulatory approval and is expected to be finalized before the end of this year.
Masan’s feed business grew out of the merger of two leading feed companies, ANCO and Proconco, in 2015. Today the business includes 13 feed mills and one premix plant, with a total combined production capacity of nearly 4 million tons.
Back in May 2021, a Bloomberg report indicted the Masan Group, in a restructuring move, was looking to spin off its animal feed division and that it was reportedly hoping to raise as much as $1bn from the divestment.
As part of the transaction announced today, De Heus and Masan MEATLife (MML) have agreed on numerous strategic supply agreements, including a multi-year pig supply contract allowing De Heus to supply MML with a steady flow of pigs, leveraging the strategic partnership the Dutch company has developed with genetics company, Topigs Norsvin.
In line with the memorandum of understanding (MOU) that De Heus and MML signed in September, the parties said this agreement further validates their joint commitment to professionalize the farming sector in Vietnam, boosting productivity in the country’s animal protein value chain.
Growing the business in Vietnam
De Heus first entered the Vietnamese feed market in late 2008, through the acquisition of two existing animal feed factories in Binh Duong and Hai Phong.
Some 12 years later, the feed manufacturer has eight factories across the country, and a spokesperson confirmed that De Heus Vietnam expects sales volumes of around 1.5m tons for 2021.
Vietnam's demand for animal feed ingredients is forecast to reach about 28-30m tons a year in the next five years, worth $12-13bn, with an average growth of 11-12%, according to the Vietnam’s poultry breeders association.
The country has around 265 animal feed production factories currently, 85 of which are foreign owned, as per statistics from the country’s ministry of agriculture and rural development.
