Global consumer goods giant Unilever has snapped up another iconic Australian brand, buying 60-year-old icecream company Weis Frozen Foods from the founding Weis family.
Unilever said on Wednesday it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Weis for an undisclosed price, bolstering its Streets icecream range which includes Australian brands Golden Gaytime, Splice, Bubble 'O Bill and Paddle Pop and global brands such as Magnum.
Weis is a second-generation Australian ice cream and frozen dessert manufacturer founded in 1957 by Les and Valma Weis. Weis products, which include the top-selling Mango and Cream Weis bar, made from Kensington Pride mangoes, are made in the Weis factory in Toowoomba, Queensland, using locally sourced ingredients.
Unilever Australia and New Zealand chief executive Clive Stiff said the Anglo-Dutch food and beverages giant would continue to manufacture Weis products at the Toowoomba plant and to source fruit locally following the acquisition.
"We are committed to providing Weis consumers and customers with the same exceptional products with the same high quality natural ingredients and we are pleased to be continuing its manufacturing operation here in Toowoomba," Mr Stiff said.
"We look forward to welcoming Weis' strong, dedicated and passionate team to Unilever." Unilever owns top-selling brands including Flora, Bushells, Liptons, Tea Too, Dove, Rexona, Surf and Ben & Jerry's.
"This acquisition will bring Weis the benefits of scale, strong market access and ice cream category expertise to help take the business to the next level in its growth," he said.
Weis managing director Julie Weis said the Weis family had agreed to sell their business because Unilever had demonstrated it understood the Weis brand, products and culture, including the importance of continuing to manufacture in Toowoomba.
"In addition Unilever's scale will enable greater market access and growth that will provide opportunities for our extended Weis family of staff, suppliers, customers and ... consumers," Ms Weis said.
Founder Les Weis, 86, said Unilever would give Weis the "push" it needed to grow.
"Learning about the many founders involved in Unilever's business right from its original founder William Lever through to Australia's Edwin Street has greatly encouraged my wife Val and I, and the family, that Weis will be in good company and under long-term care with Unilever," he said.
"Val has always said to me 'business is like a wheelbarrow, it doesn't go anywhere unless someone pushes it' and I think Unilever will give Weis just the push it needs."
Weis joins a long list of Australian brands to fall into foreign hands, including Arnott's, which is owned by US-based Campbell's Soup Co, Uncle Toby's (Swiss-based multinational Nestle), Fosters (global brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev) and Aeroplane Jelly (part of McCormicks)
Last year Snack Brands Australia, which makes salty snacks such as CC's, Thins, Kettle, Cheezels and Samboy, was sold to Philippines multinational Universal Robina for $600 million and clothing brands including Bonds and Berlei were acquired by the world's largest underwear company, US-based Hanesbrands, for $1.1 billion.
In 2015, Philippines food company Monde Nissin acquired family-owned dip and cracker company Menora Foods for about $55 million, a month after buying Nudie Juices for about $80 million and less than a year after outlaying $115 million for dip maker Black Swan.
Five years ago Chinese food company Bright Foods paid $500 million for Manassen Foods, which owns dried food brands Sunbeam and Angus Park and Margaret River Dairy, while Singaporean oils and sugar company Wilmar International and Hong Kong investment company First Pacific paid $1.3 billion in 2014 for Goodman Fielder, which owns Meadow Lea, White Wings and Wonder White bread.
In a rare reversal of the trend, Bega Cheese last month completed the $460 million acquisition of a suite of food and beverage brands from Mondelez, including Vegemite and Bonox.
