Australian bakery deal: Nisshin Seifun snaps up Allied Pinnacle

28 Feb 2019 --- Regional miller and supplier of value-added, flour‐based products, Nisshin Seifun Group Inc. has agreed to acquire Australian bakery business, Allied Pinnacle from Funds advised by Australasian private equity form Pacific Equity Partners. The terms and conditions of the deal have not been disclosed, however, the planned acquisition is part of Tokyo-based Nisshin’s international expansion strategy to buy companies with high growth potential.

The acquisition of the Australian flour, ingredients and baked products manufacturer allows Nisshin to leverage product development capability and provide value‐added products, notes Nisshin which has completed seven acquisitions globally since 2010, including expanding in New Zealand through the acquisition of Champion Flour Milling from Goodman Fielder.

Allied Pinnacle CEO, James Ajaka says that Nisshin’s global footprint and track record of investing in innovation perfectly matches Allied Pinnacle’s strategy of delivering unique technologies and products to international markets. Ajaka also notes how the two enterprises will be transformed into a “world-class fully-integrated business.” 

As Australia’s largest end-to-end bakery ingredient supplier, Allied Pinnacle has leadership positions across flour, premixes and prepared bakery products. The business generates approximately AUS$750 million (US$535 million) in sales each year as a key supplier to the major supermarkets, industrial bakers and thousands of independent bakeries across the country. 

Allied Pinnacle was formed through the combination of Pinnacle Bakery and Integrated Ingredients which was acquired from the Kerry Group in May 2015 and Allied Mills which was acquired in March 2017, from a joint venture between Graincorp and Cargill. 

“Allied Pinnacle is the leading flour, ingredients and baked products manufacturer in Australia and plays an important role in Australia’s food infrastructure. This is a good example of PEP’s investment approach of supporting world-class management teams to invest in safety, quality and innovation driving growth with our customers and superior investment returns for our investors,” explains PEP Managing Director, Tony Duthie.

Nisshin was founded in 1900 and listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of AUS$9 billion as of February 25, 2019. It’s the largest flour milling company in Japan with revenue of AUS$6 billion for the financial year ended 31 March 31, 2018. The company manufactures and sells wheat flour, processed foods, healthy foods, biotechnology and pet food.