Nutresa subscribed agreement to acquire Belina in Costa Rica

• Grupo Nutresa S. A. subscribed an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of Belina, a group of companies domiciled in Costa Rica, dedicated to the production, import and distribution of animal food.
• The transaction amounts to USD 28.000.000 (enterprise value).
• Belina has three business lines: pets, farm and aquaculture, the former served through own and recognized brands in the Costa Rican market including Balance, Superkan and Gourmet Mix.

Medellín, May 19th, 2021. Grupo Nutresa S. A. (NUTRESA: BVC) informs that it has subscribed an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of Belina Nutrición Animal, S. A., Belina Importaciones e Innovaciones Dos Mil, S. A. and Industrial Belina Montes de Oro, S. A. (Belina) for USD$28.000.000 (enterprise value).

Belina is a group of companies domiciled in Costa Rica, dedicated to the production, import and distribution of animal food. The closing of this transaction is subject to its notification before the Costa Rica’s Commission for the Promotion of Competition (Comisión para la Promoción de la Competencia de Costa Rica in Spanish – COPROCOM).

The company

Belina has a 15-year experience in the production and distribution of animal food. In 2020, it sold USD$34.000.000 in three business lines: pets, farm and aquaculture. The most relevant of these lines is the pet line with around 70% of the sales through own and recognized trademarks in the Costa Rican market – Balance, Superkan and Gourmet Mix-, and the distribution of Nutrisource®.

Belina owns a production facility located in the Puntarenas province, Costa Rica, while the distribution to the entire country is made from its own logistics center located in Alajuela. In total, Belina employs 225 people.

With this acquisition, Grupo Nutresa enters a category that complements its portfolio with products for the growing pet population.

About this transaction, Carlos Ignacio Gallego, CEO of Grupo Nutresa pointed out: “With this acquisition, we are venturing into the pet food market, a category with significantly positive growth dynamics. Thus, we are striving to enhance our presence in Costa Rica and Central America initially, with an outlook to expand our reach to the entire strategic region”.

He then added: “Grupo Nutresa’s sales in Central America amounted to USD 307 million in 2020, which represents 10,2% of the total sales. This acquisition will help us to strengthen this geography and supplement our capabilities with the ones Belina has developed thus far. In this region, we have broadly recognized and appreciated brands, an excellent distribution operation and a talented and skillful team, conditions that we share with Belina, to which it adds its market entry capability through the channel specialized in products for pets”.

And he finished: “We are certain that this is the entry to a market with major growth possibilities and considerably solid fundamentals thanks to the increasing presence of pets in people’s homes and the growing expenditure of their owners aiming to ensure their health and well-being. Our intention is to gain significant knowledge about this segment and build new capabilities across our Organization”.