Agile Equity: Transactions

Agile Equity Advises Annie Chun's Inc. on Acquisition by CJ Corp. in Korea

Seoul, Korea
November 30, 2005
Asia Pulse

South Korean foodmaker CJ Corp. said Wednesday it has acquired a 70 percent stake in Annie Chun's Inc., a U.S. food company.

The San Francisco-based company, Annie Chun's Inc., has been growing rapidly by providing Asian-style instant foodstuffs and sauce products, CJ said.

"The takeover is designed to penetrate the processed food market in the United States," said Kim Ju-heong, a senior official from CJ Corp.

Founded in 1992 by South Korean immigrant Annie Chun, the company sells products throughout North America and parts of Europe.

CJ said it will push for aggressive growth of Annie Chun's operations, including development of new products, production, marketing and sales.

Efforts will also be made to tailor CJ's food products to American tastes, starting with its flagship instant steamed rice, the company said.

"We hope the acquisition will serve as a starting point for emerging as a world-class food company," Kim said.

Established in 1953, CJ has been leading the local food market, specializing in sugar, flour, cooking oil and processed food. Its business areas include food, entertainment, biopharmaceuticals, logistics, and home shopping.

Agile Equity has executed large transactions, such as representing Firstsource, a public Indian company, on its $330,000,000 acquisition of MedAssist in the US, and smaller transactions, such as representing Pelican Security, a private Israeli company, on its acquisition by Microsoft.

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