Craigs invites bidders to taste test $200m-a-year Kiwi Costa
One of New Zealand’s leading growers, Bostock Group, is set to swing open the farm gates to private equity and strategic buyers just as ASX-listed fruit and vegetable processor Costa Group works towards an agreed deal with New York buyout fund PSP.
Bostock, which claims to be the largest producer of organic apples in the Southern Hemisphere and makes about $200 million annual revenue, has drafted in Kiwi investment bank Craigs Investment Partners to help it look for a new owner.
Appley ever after: John Bostock, a chemistry student turned horticulturist, is seeking expressions of interest for his business. AFR
An 11-page sale flyer sent to prospective buyers, and obtained by Street Talk, said Bostock owns 560 hectares of orchards and leases another 1,750 hectares of cropping land in New Zealand’s premium growing region.
It exports into more than 30 markets, with North America and Asia (including Japan) making up more than 75 per cent of the revenue. Clients include big retailers like Costco, Whole Foods and European counterparts Edeka and Tesco.
The company, which started growing apples at Hawke’s Bay in 1983, has more than $200 million in assets, and is forecasting $200 million revenue and $25 million EBITDA for the 2024 financial year, the flyer said. It expects apple production volumes to grow 60 per cent over the coming decade.
Apples are at the heart of Bostock’s business – it is expecting to ship 1.9 million tray carton equivalents this financial year climbing to 2.5 million in 2033. It has transitioned its business to premium varieties of apples – Royal Gala, Honeycrisp, Fuji and the like – while also improving yield by shifting from traditional planting to intensive planting. It’s also a sizeable producer of
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