Philippines-based Del Monte Pacific Limited (DMPL) has completed the US$1.675 billion purchase of a consumer food business from U.S. company Del Monte Corporation.

In a release, DMPL said the acquisition of the business - to be renamed Del Monte Foods, Inc. (DMFI) would bring greater access to a well-established and profitable branded consumer food business in the world’s biggest market.

"Del Monte Foods, with a twenty six per cent market share in the canned fruit market in the United States will provide Del Monte Pacific with a solid growth platform and supplement our achievements in the expanding markets of Asia," DMPL chairman Rolando Gapud said.

"It will also provide longer term opportunities in the emerging markets of South America.

"Del Monte Foods is led by an excellent management team with whom we have worked very closely over many years."

DMFI chief executive officer Nils Lommerin said significant investments have been made into the 100-year old iconic Del Monte brand over the last two years.

"This deal allows for complete focus on the strategic direction of the Del Monte brand, backed by a visionary and strategic parent in Del Monte Pacific, and positions us to capture significant growth opportunities as Del Monte Foods moves forward," Lommerin said.

"At present, our market share of the canned pineapple market in the United States is less than ten percent and we will focus on increasing our penetration in this segment by leveraging on the advantages of vertical integration and DMPL’s success in the Philippines and elsewhere."

Lommerin emphasized there was good opportunity to expand DMFI's largely untapped South America business.

"At the appropriate time, we will position ourselves to take advantage of the rise of domestic consumption in some of the key South American countries," he said.

"We are very excited about this historic transaction which quadruples DMPL’s sales from US$500 million to more than US$2 billion, and fortifies DMPL’s vision of becoming a global branded food and beverage company. This is a game-changer for the Company and we will provide full support to DMFI to ensure we execute against our plans for future growth."

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