"With a total annual sales volume of 300,000 tonnes of poultry, fish and shrimp feed, Universal provides De Heus with an ideal platform to build and further expand our activities in Indonesia,” said Koen De Heus, CEO of Royal De Heus. “De Heus is a family owned company with a long-term vision for the animal feed industry. I am sure that our knowledge, experience and international presence will help us to strengthen and grow Universal’s feed activities in Indonesia by optimizing the technical performances of its customers and the independent Indonesian farmers.”

In 2009, De Heus entered the Southeast Asian market through the acquisition of an animal feed company in Vietnam. Nine years later, De Heus Vietnam has become a top industry player, with eight factories strategically spread throughout the country.

“The success of De Heus in Vietnam – where since last year our regional Asian head office is located -  has boosted our confidence to develop our activities in the region. Besides Vietnam, we are now successfully operating two feed mills in Myanmar, constructing a feed mill in Cambodia and through this acquisition, we can enter the promising Indonesian animal feed market,” said Gabor Fluit, Regional Director De Heus Asia.

De Heus expects to close the acquisition during the fourth quarter of 2018, and will appoint Kay De Vreese - who has more than 15 years of experience in key management positions in the industry in both Europe and Asia - as President Director of Universal. He will be supported by Ton Hovers, an experienced professional in the Indonesian animal nutrition industry, who will become a member of Universal’s Board of Directors and who will focus on the further development and growth of the Aqua business.