Kimly eyes 75% stake in halal food business Tenderfresh for S$54m

[The_King]

COFFEE-SHOP operator Kimly has proposed to acquire a 75 per cent stake in home-grown food business Tenderfresh for S$54 million, to be satisfied via a mix of cash and new Kimly shares to be issued to the sellers.

The move will provide the group an opportunity to expand into the growing halal food industry in Singapore and neighbouring countries, it said in a press statement on Tuesday.

Prior to the completion of the deal, the Tenderfresh business will be restructured and consolidated. A new entity will be incorporated to hold the business, which Kimly will own 75 per cent.

Out of the S$54 million to be paid if the deal goes through, S$38 million will be paid in cash, while S$16 million will be satisfied by the issuance of 51.2 million shares at an issue price of 31.24 Singapore cents.

 

Kimly has also granted a put option to Tenderfresh's vendors, which in turn have granted Kimly a call option. Both the put and call options are "evergreen" and will allow Kimly to acquire the remaining 25 per cent stake in Tenderfresh five years after the completion date.

 

Founded in 1979, Tenderfresh manages 14 food concepts and 41 outlets, ranging from western fares and traditional local cuisines to food kiosks, catering, retail outlets and original equipment manufacturing (OEM).

It operates a 25,000 square foot central kitchen which caters to about 140 brands and outlets. The kitchen supplies semi-finished products to its own outlets.

"As more food and beverage operators look to outsource their food production to reliable OEM partners to reduce manpower needs, the group believes that this will generate new revenue streams," Kimly said.

The proposed acquisition comprises central kitchens, restaurants, kiosks, food stalls, plant and equipment, trademarks and customer relationships which operate via various entities.

As Tenderfresh's central kitchen is halal-certified and its "Tenderbest" branch is "well-recognised by the Muslim community", Kimly believes it will be able to leverage Tenderfresh's competitive edge and wide network in the halal food market to make further headway into the industry.

The Singapore Halal mark and standard is also recognised by Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia under the MABIMS agreement, Kimly said.

Kimly expects the proposed acquisition to complete within five months. The completion is conditional on satisfactory due diligence investigations by Kimly, the restructuring exercise being completed and no material adverse change to the operations, assets and financial condition of Tenderfresh save for the restructuring.

Shares of Catalist-listed Kimly jumped by 10.9 per cent or 3.5 Singapore cents to 35.5 cents as at 9.01am, after the announcement. The company on Tuesday lifted its trading halt called on May 5.