SOVEREIGN Foods, the third largest poultry producer in South Africa, recently announced the merger of Sovereign Foods with the Cold Storage Group (CSG), an Eastern Cape wholesaler of poultry and value-added poultry products.
CSG comprises five inter-related wholesalers which include: Umtata Cold Storage in Umtata, Kei Cold Storage in Queenstown, Zwelitsha Cold Storage in Zwelitsha, Wilsonia Cold Storage in East London and Sov Foods Factory Shop in Uitenhage.
“Sovereign will take a majority ownership stake in CSG and consolidate the five businesses into one business,” said Chris Coombes, CEO of Sovereign Foods. The merger came into effect on 1 March 2019.
The companies in CSG distribute, sell and supply poultry and other value-added poultry products on a wholesale basis to retailers and walk-in customers in the Easter Cape region. CSG has a fleet of 25 delivery vehicles and an employee complement of 110 employees.
“Over many years, CSG has built up a loyal and valuable customer base in these areas and have an experienced management team in place that has driven strong growth in the business over the past five years,” Coombes said.
On 19 February 2019, the Competition Commission of South Africa approved the transaction with no conditions.
The business will still be known as the Cold Storage Group and will continue to be run by Darron Gudmanz as the Managing Director together with his existing management team.
“Darron has been a partner in CSG for many years and brings with him an excellent track record, wealth of experience and a drive to grow and expand the business. We are excited about this transaction and a long-term mutually beneficially relationship. We wish Darron, his management team and all CSG employees the very best,” Coombes said.
Over the past several years, Sovereign has undergone some major changes including the expansion of the Uitenhage operation to 1 million birds per week and the acquisition of the Hartbeespoort operation in 2015 and its subsequent expansion to 600 000 birds per week.