Acquires a controlling interest in the Chilean fruit production,
packing and export firm
TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC SEHK: 945
BOSTON, Jan. 28, 2021 /CNW/ - Hancock Natural Resource
Group (HNRG), a company of Manulife Investment Management,
announced today it has completed a majority acquisition of David
Del Curto S.A. ("DDC"), on behalf of
its third-party clients. The acquisition helps to diversify
its growing agricultural portfolio through its Farmland Plus
initiative. Farmland Plus assets include integrated crop operations
such as transitional processing, storing and packaging for
wholesale distribution. The acquisition is in keeping with Manulife
Investment Management's priority to strategically grow its
private markets offering across timber, agriculture,
infrastructure, real estate, private equity and credit.
David Del Curto, S.A. is a
leading Chilean fruit production, packing and export company, which
produces over ten different fruit types across eleven farms, while
also managing one of the largest nurseries in the country. It
also operates three packing facilities with a capacity of nine
million boxes of fruit. DDC will continue to be led by Fernando
Cisternas, the current CEO, and the management team, who will
oversee day-to-day operations and key strategic growth
projects.
"David Del Curto is a
well-respected firm with more than 65 years of success in fruit
production and extensive sales relationships throughout
Asia, Europe, North
America and the Middle
East," said Stephen J.
Blewitt, global head of private markets, Manulife Investment
Management. "The acquisition strengthens and diversifies our
existing portfolio as DDC is in a solid position; both currently
with market-leading characteristics and for the future with
state-of-the-art farmland facilities and opportunity for additional
strategic growth."
"The acquisition of DDC opens a new market for our agricultural
clients. Both the company's track record and Chile's reputation in the global agricultural
markets make this an attractive agricultural investment," added
Oliver S. Williams, CFA, global head
of agricultural investments, HNRG.
The acquisition will also benefit from maintaining a connection
to the previous ownership. The Corso Group (TCG), the investment
unit of the Cortes Solari family office, acquired an ownership
stake of DDC in 2005 and in this transaction will maintain a
minority stake in the firm. TCG's experience in managing through
Chile's agricultural cycle and the
overall continuity in management expertise will have both tangible
and intangible impact on the future success of the company.
"We are very excited to work on the ownership transition with
the strong DDC management team that is already in place and value
The Corso Group's continuing partnership," said William E. Peressini, CEO, HNRG. "We will also
work closely with the existing teams on land stewardship which we
anticipate will include redeveloping existing orchards and
developing those orchards that have not been under cultivation.
Through these efforts we will look to expand DDC's production, as
well as enhance existing and new marketing partnerships, to create
additional opportunity."
Chile benefits from its
geographic location and climate, allowing for high value crop
production. Because it is located in the Southern Hemisphere, it
harvests and markets crops around the world at a time when Northern
Hemisphere supplies are low. DDC currently packs and markets fruit
for approximately 90 third-party growers as well as fruit from its
own farms. In the 2018/19 marketing year, DDC accounted for 1.70%
of Chilean fruit volume. DDC sells products to a diverse and global
customer base and in the 2018/19 crop year, sold product to nearly
150 customers on four continents. Ninety percent of the total
amount of sales are shipped to Europe, North
America and Asia.
Fernando Cisternas, CEO, DDC, said, "By joining the Manulife
Investment Management and HNRG team, we are able to rely on their
extensive agricultural experience to expand our operations and
further the reach of the firm. We feel the acquisition will bring
tremendous additional resources to our teams and partners."
HNRG was advised by Jon Pratt,
managing director, mergers and acquisitions, Duff & Phelps and
Tully & Holland on the
transaction.
About Hancock Natural Resource Group
Hancock Natural
Resource Group (HNRG) is part of Manulife Investment Management's
comprehensive Private Markets platform, which includes Private
Equity and Credit, Infrastructure, Real Estate, Timber and
Agriculture. HNRG's timber division manages approximately 5.6
million acres of timberland across the
United States and in Canada, New
Zealand, Australia, and
Chile. HNRG's agricultural
investment group oversees approximately 400,000 acres of prime
farmland in major agricultural regions of the United States and in Canada and Australia.
About Manulife Investment Management
Manulife
Investment Management is the global wealth and asset management
segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than a
century of financial stewardship and the full resources of our
parent company to serve individuals, institutions, and retirement
plan members worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto, our leading capabilities in public
and private markets are strengthened by an investment footprint
that spans 17 countries and territories. We complement these
capabilities by providing access to a network of unaffiliated asset
managers from around the world. We're committed to investing
responsibly across our businesses. We develop innovative global
frameworks for sustainable investing, collaboratively engage with
companies in our securities portfolios, and maintain a high
standard of stewardship where we own and operate assets, and we
believe in supporting financial well-being through our workplace
retirement plans. Today, plan sponsors around the world rely on our
retirement plan administration and investment expertise to
help their employees plan for, save for, and live a better
retirement.
As of September 30, 2020, Manulife
Investment Management had CAD$923
billion (US$692 billion) in
assets under management and administration. Not all offerings
are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information,
please visit manulifeim.com.
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SOURCE Manulife Investment Management