Singapore - Consumer products maker Sara Lee/D.E N.V. is looking for acquisitions in the Asia Pacific which it sees as a major future growth area, regional chief executive officer Peter Birch said.
"In the long term, the focus is on firmly establishing Asia Pacific as a major contributor to Sara Lee's growth," Birch said.
"Now is an opportunity to start looking for acquisitions. We are looking at both hard and soft assets to complement existing businesses or to provide us with a beachhead in new markets," he said.
Birch was speaking after Sara Lee, which makes products ranging from cakes to underwear, was awarded operational headquarters (OHQ) status by Singapore's Economic Development Board, which is responsible for attracting foreign investments to the city state.
"Although the economics are currently bleak, Asia's population houses a third of the world's Gross Domestic Product. If we have 10-15% of our business in Asia, that would kind of make sense," Birch said.
"We don't have that. We are a US$20 billion company. So at some stage, we could be doing some US$2-3 billion worth of business here," he said. He declined to give a time-frame.
Asia currently accounts for a relatively small proportion of Sara Lee's $20 billion annual sales. As a result, the economic turmoil has had little impact on the group.
Asked about the areas the group was keen on expanding, Birch said: "We will pursue any of the opportunities in the Asia Pacific through our core businesses -- whether it is coffee, household, body-care, bakery or meats. We are looking at all these things."
Birch said funding of acquisitions would not be an issue for Sara Lee, which has recently sold Douwe Egberts Van Nelle Tobacco, its tobacco unit, for US$1.1 billion to U.K's Imperial Tobacco Group Plc.
In the short term, the group would stay focused on its existing businesses as the region struggles out of one of its worst economic downturns.
"We have to be realistic about what can be achieved. There are no quick fixes, no region-wide platitudes but a long, detailed country-specific slog," Birch said.
"The new environment will clearly identify true business builders and brand builders."
Birch said setting up an OHQ in Singapore during the crisis would provide the group a solid base "from which to take advantage of renewed economic growth when it comes.”
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