Trilantic scales down portfolio with sale of MW Brands

Trade buyer Thai Union Frozen Products won the auction, beating buy-out shops BC Partners, Blackstone and Permira – all linked to the bidding process.

MW Brands is one of the European leaders in tuna products through its John West, Petit Navire, Hyacinthe Parmentier and Mareblu brands, which are widely stocked in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and Italy.

Trilantic acquired the company, which generated sales of €448m for the year ended 31 March, through a carve-out of various entities from US food producer HJ Heinz in 2006.

Once the deal has been fully completed, Thai Union’s tuna processing capacity will amount to half a million tonnes of fish, making the combined group one of the largest canned tuna producers in the world.

Trilantic partner Joe Cohen said that the deal constitutes a key step in the development of sustainable and economic fishery production.

Lehman spin-out Trilantic manages some $3.8bn in capital, previously overseen under the banner Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking.

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