ALB.L Regulatory News (ALB)

10 Dec 2007 07:01

Vestpa PLC10 December 2007 Not for release, publication or distribution in whole or in part in or into theUnited States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, the Peoples' Republic of China,Australia, the Republic of South Africa or any other jurisdiction where it isunlawful to do so China Food Company plc (formerly Vestpa Plc) Admission to AIM China Food Company Plc ("CFC" or "the Company") is pleased to announce thecompletion of its acquisition of the entire issued ordinary share capital ofFull Fortune Holdings Pte. Limited ("Full Fortune"). Admission and dealings inthe enlarged share capital commence today on AIM, the market owned and operatedby London Stock Exchange plc. Strand Partners Limited is acting as NominatedAdviser and broker to the Company. The ticker (trading symbol) is CFC.L. Full Fortune is an investment holding company registered in Singapore whosetrading subsidiaries are leading producers of branded consumer condimentsproducts and animal feeds in Shou Guang City and Weifang City in the Shandongprovince in China. Its entire issued share capital was acquired for a totalconsideration of approximately £25.17 million, comprising 40,333,333 NewOrdinary Shares at the Issue Price and a cash payment of £5 million. The cash element of the consideration was financed by the Company through theissue of 16,666,667 subscription shares at a price of 30 pence per share,raising £5 million before expenses. The Company will have a marketcapitalisation of approximately £33.2 million based on the Issue Price of theconsideration shares. Acquisition and Subscription Statistics Number of Acquisition Shares 40,333,333 Issue Price 50p Number of Subscription Shares 16,666,667 Subscription Price 30p Number of New Ordinary Shares in issue on Admission 66,400,001 Market capitalisation of the Company at the Issue £33.2 millionPrice on Admission Gross proceeds of the Subscription £5 million Net proceeds of the Subscription £4.1 million AIM symbol CFC.L ISIN GB00B290WV95 John McLean, Non-Executive Chairman, commented: "I am delighted with the admission of the enlarged share capital on AIM today.CFC has a highly experienced management team operating a well establishedbusiness, in a growing Chinese market, that is highly cash generative and owns anumber of leading food brands. Our strategy will include the expansion of the Full Fortune Group's existingproduct range in order to capitalise on Fu-Rich's existing distribution networkinto the multiples in China. The Full Fortune Group is currently increasing itsproduction capacity on a new site in Shou Guang City to meet anticipated futuredemand and has a low level of gearing." Enquiries: China Food Company PlcJohn McLean, Chairman Tel: +44 (0)7768 031 454 Strand Partners LimitedJames Harris Tel: +44 (0) 20 7409 3494Matthew Chandler Hansard GroupAdam Reynolds Tel: +44 (0) 20 7245 1100John Bick Notes for editors on the Full Fortune Group: Financial highlights Summary financial information on the Full Fortune Group Year ended Year ended Year ended 31 December 2004 31 December 2005 31 December 2006 £000s £000s £000s Revenue 8,978 13,870 19,273Gross profit 3,077 4,314 6,771Gross margin (per cent.) 34.27 31.10 35.13EBITDA 2,988 4,172 6,454Profit before taxation 2,619 3,834 6,077Profit after taxation 1,971 2,838 4,437Net margin (per cent.) 21.95 20.46 23.02Cash and cash equivalents 2,337 3,799 3,656Net assets 4,820 6,997 10,545 Operational highlights New Factory Fu-Rich, which produces and sells a range of condiments for human consumption,is currently in the process of establishing a new 50,000 tonne capacity soyasauce processing plant at the Full Fortune Group's new premises in Shou GuangCity, which the New Board expects to be completed in June 2008. Business divisions Condiments (Fu-Rich) • Soya sauce (37.9 per cent of sales) • Vinegar (29.7) • Bean paste (30.5) For the year to 31 December 2006, sales of condiments products accounted forapproximately 45.1 per cent of Full Fortune Group's total revenues. Animal Feed (Fuss Feed) Fuss Feed's business model involves the manufacture of three generic categoriesof animal feed: • Premix• Concentrate Feed• Compound Feed For the year to 31 December 2006, sales of animal feed products accounted forapproximately 54.9 per cent of Full Fortune Group's total revenues. Further background information • Full Fortune is the holding company for Fu-Rich, Fuss Feed and FussBiotech. Fu-Rich is the group's consumer foods business which produces a rangeof different types of soya sauce, vinegar and bean paste under its own brandnames from its premises in Weifang City, Shangdong. • Fu-Rich produces approximately 50 to 60 products under its "Fushi" and"Fushi Hao Tai Tai" brand names from its current factory occupying a totalbuilt-up area of approximately 17,663 sq. m. The Full Fortune Group has land userights over an area of 199,657 sq. m. for new premises in Shou Guang City and anew manufacturing facility for Fu-Rich is currently under construction whichwill increase its production capacity by 50 per cent. from 100,000 to 150,000tonnes per annum. • Fu-Rich operates in one of the fastest growing segments within thePRC's food industry reflecting the increasing purchasing power of Chineseconsumers. Annual sales for this market segment are estimated to have grown fromRMB59 billion in 2004 to RMB100 billion in 2006. • Fu-Rich's primary market is Weifang but it also sells to other citiesin Shandong, as well as to neighbouring provinces including Henan, Jiangsu,Anhui, Hebei, Tianjin, Beijing and Liaoning. Fu-Rich is believed to hold aleading market position in Weifang and a significant share of the wider Shandongmarketplace. For the year to 31 December 2006, sales to provinces outside ofShandong accounted for approximately 16.9 per cent. of Fu-Rich's total revenues. • Fu-Rich sells its products via a network of 205 distributors,retailers and numerous outlets of large and medium sized supermarket chains inten provinces and municipal cities in the north-eastern region of the PRC,including Wal Mart, Carrefour, Shiji Lianhua and Jialejia. • Fuss Feed was founded in November 1994. Initially focused on themanufacture of Compound Feed for poultry, cows and pigs; it has sincediversified to manufacture higher-margin Premix and Concentrate Feed, operatingtwo production lines at a 15,000 sq. m. plant in Shou Guang City, Shangdong. • In 2004, Fuss Feed embarked on a deliberate strategy to expand intothe neighbouring provinces around Shandong, with the selective appointment ofpreferred distributors. As at 30 June 2007, it had a total of 13 distributorslocated in Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu and Hebei and the New Board believes that thereis significant potential to grow revenues from these territories now that theFull Fortune Group has an established foothold. Strand Partners Limited, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdomby the Financial Services Authority, is acting as financial and nominatedadviser and broker to the Company in connection with the Acquisition,Subscription and admission of the Enlarged Share Capital to trading on AIM. Itsresponsibilities as the Company's nominated adviser and broker under the AIMRules are owed solely to the London Stock Exchange and are not owed to theCompany or to any Director or to any other person in respect of their decisionto acquire shares in the Company in reliance on any part of this announcement.Strand Partners Limited is acting exclusively for China Food Company and for noone else and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company forproviding the protections afforded to their clients or for providing advice inrelation to the contents of this announcement or the Acquisition, theSubscription or the admission of the Enlarged Share Capital to trading on AIM.No representation or warranty, express or implied, is made by Strand PartnersLimited as to the contents of this announcement, without limiting the statutoryrights of any person to whom this announcement is issued. The informationcontained in this announcement is not intended to inform or be relied upon byany subsequent purchasers of New Ordinary Shares (whether on or off exchange)and accordingly no duty of care is accepted in relation to them. Strand Partners Limited has approved the contents of this announcement solelyfor the purpose of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.The principal place of business of Strand Partners Limited is 26 Mount Row,London W1K 3SQ. The Directors of China Food Company accept responsibility, individually andcollectively, for the information contained in this announcement and forcompliance with the AIM Rules. To the best of the knowledge and belief of theDirectors, who have taken all reasonable care to ensure that such is the case,the information contained in this announcement is in accordance with the factsand does not omit anything likely to affect the import of such information. This announcement does not constitute, or form part of, an offer or aninvitation to purchase any securities This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange