Abu Dhabi company acquires Cebag

The Abu Dhabi Vegetable Oil Company yesterday announced the acquisition of Cebag Middle East and its popular Coroli brand of edible oil, a company official said.

"The Coroli brand has significant market share in the Middle East but it differs from country to country. Advoc's [Abu Dhabi Vegetable Oil Company] investment is several million dollars," Colin Smith, Advoc's general manager, told Gulf News. He declined to state the exact value of the deal.

"Advoc will be the owner of the brand in the Middle East and North Africa. Coroli has been the leading edible oil brand in the region for the past three decades," he said.

The acquistion follows a three-year period where Coroli has been packed by Advoc during which time the combined Advoc-Cebag business witnessed spectacular growth.

The owners of Advoc, a private joint stock company, hope the acquisition will aid their plan to increase market share. The plan includes expansion into new markets within the region, covering 22 countries from Morocco to India.

The company's facility at Abu Dhabi's Mina Zayed area has a production capacity of around 80,000 tonnes per year (tpy) of vegetable oil.

"As the output of the plant has now reached full capacity, the management has approved a further expansion that will increase plant capacity by 40 per cent to cope with new demand," said Smith.

Cebag is a Dutch/Swiss company.

Advoc is involved in food oil processing and the manufacturing and refining of vegetable oil. The six-year-old company was set up by prominent individuals, including members of the Abu Dhabi royal family.

About 80 per cent of its production is exported. Its largest market is Saudi Arabia.

Advoc secured a $7.5 million (Dh27.52 million) contract from the UN World Food Programme to supply 9,000 tonnes of vegetable oil to Iraq after the war last year.