Private equity firm, Allegro Funds, has acquired a majority stake in BE Campbell, a third generation, family-owned meat processing company, with the Campbell family retaining a “significant” share in the business.
BE Campbell employs more than 750 people and operates two plants in Western Sydney at Wetherill Park and Arndell Park. It supplies supermarkets, foodservice, butchers, and distributors as well as having export operations.
The Wetherill Park site is a pork deboning and processing plant as well as its head office, which is currently being upgraded. It processes up to 15,000 pigs a week using a high end SFK deboning system.
The Arndell Park facility is a processing value added plant that has a processing capacity of approximately 400 tonnes per week. It’s a multi-faceted, multi-species processing facility with flexible capabilities in terms of processing and packaging.
The sale price hasn’t been disclosed, but the AFR speculated it could go for between six to eight times its $40 million earnings based on comparable sales, which would put its value between $250-$350 million.
BE Campbell chair, Ted Campbell, said the family was remaining as shareholders and executives and would continue its longstanding partnerships with growers, suppliers, customers and staff.
“This business has grown steadily over the past 55 years. We’re looking forward to the partnership with Allegro as we enter this next phase of growth.
“The Campbell Family are remaining in the business as shareholders and executives,” Campbell said.
The investment from Allegro will accelerate the company’s growth strategy, including capital upgrades in its facilities, investment in new product formats, and an updated commercial platform for customer management.
Allegro Funds managing director, Jeffrey Largier, said, “We’re impressed with what they have built over the business’s long and rich history – BE Campbell is a category leader with a strong track record of growth.”
Allegro was advised by Ashurst, EY, Skye Capital and Greenmount for this transaction. BE Campbell was advised by Miles Advisory, Alvarez and Marsal, and Mills Oakley.
