Canned fish consolidation: Muller’s Lisner closes deal for Graal

German dairy giant Theo Muller’s has closed a long- awaited deal for Polish canned processor Graal via its Lisner subsidiary

German dairy giant Unternehmensgruppe Theo Muller’s has closed a long-awaited deal for Polish canned processor Graal via its Lisner subsidiary, which was finally given the go-ahead by competition authorities in September.

The deal — first announced in February 2023 — does not include the Koral salmon smoking and processing business, which India’s Captain Fresh is awaiting approval to purchase.

“Today, we have finalized the acquisition of most of the Graal Group’s business related to the categories of cans and ready meals. This transaction opens up incredible new growth prospects for us, redefining what it means to be a leader in our industry!”posted Lisner on LinkedIn. Dairy giant Muller, which has a turnover of over €9 billion ($9.74bn), acquired canned seafood supplier Lisner in
2010.

Antarctica Advisors and Rothschild & Co acted as co-advisors to Graal’s former owners, private equity Abris Capital Partners and founder Boguslaw Kowalski.

Captain Fresh’s deal for Koral, announced on July 26, is also awaiting clearance from the Polish antimonopoly office. However, it should be noted that Captain Fresh does not currently have any salmon operations, so the deal is expected to close soon.

When the sale agreement of Graal to Muller was announced, the Polish company was reported to have a turnover of PLN 1.6bn (€350 million) in 2022, including Koral. So, the company Muller is getting closer to adding to its portfolio, which will have a revenue of roughly €220m, given Koral’s estimated sales turnover of €130m.