Popular Australian food identity Maggie Beer is selling a 48 per cent stake in her food business to Primary Opinion for $15 million.
The Barossa Valley based company, Maggie Beer Products (MBP) is based in the Barossa Valley and employs over 100 people. Beer runs it with her husband Colin.
As Fairfax Media reports, Primary Opinion intends to raise up to $25 million in new capital to fund its investment in MBP. The move marks the company’s intention to pursue further investment in the food and beverage sector.
Formerly called Jumbuck Entertainment, the Melbourne –based Primary Opinion is currently mainly involved in digital knowledge sharing for professionals
Former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett, a former director of Primary Opinion, now holds a stake of about 7.65 per cent in the company.
“Maggie Beer as a name is an Australian icon,” Kennett told Fairfax. “To me this is very, very exciting … We will leverage up from here.”
Primary Opinion chairman Tony Robinson said expansion is on the cards for MBP.
“We’ve got the opportunity to grow the business with some extra capital,” Robinson told Fairfax. “The premium end of the market is growing strongly”.
The share price of Primary Opinion has increased by over 130 per cent over the past 6 months.