News24 - Karl Gernetzky

Pick n Pay said on Wednesday it had reached an agreement to buy Western Cape-based meat group Tomis for R340 million, a move aimed at ensuring a higher-quality and more consistent red meat offering for customers.

Established in 1993, Tomis is a state-of-the-art abattoir and meat processing and packaging business, supplying lamb, beef and other quality fresh meat products to wholesalers and retailers, including Pick n Pay, the retailer said in a statement.

Tomis’ production facilities are situated near Wellington, approximately 100km from Cape Town. The key assets include a 15 000m2 under-roof lamb feedlot, lamb and beef abattoirs, and a meat packaging plant situated on a 140-hectare farm. It has 320 employees, and recorded sales of R720 million in its 2022 financial year, the group said. Pick n Pay, valued at about R18.5 billion on the JSE and generates about R100 billion in annual turnover.

Tomis "operates under the highest animal welfare, food hygiene, ethical, and environmental standards," the group added on Wednesday.

The transaction is still subject to regulatory approvals.

Pick n Pay said, however, that the acquisition would "significantly enhance" the group's fresh meat offer, it said, including its ability to develop and roll out value-added products.

It will also result in a reduced cost for meat, providing the ability to give customers greater value, while also offering reliable supply, and synergies with the group's centralised supply chain distribution network.

Meat is a key product for both Pick n Pay and Pick n Pay QualiSave under the new Ekuseni strategy, the group said. This strategy has divided the group's offering into three distinct value propositions, Pick n Pay, Pick n Pay QualiSave and Boxer, which respectively target from the upper end of the market to the lower.