Jan 2018 Financial News

GraceKennedy Limited - GK Investments Acquires Shares in Gray’s Pepper Products

Jan 11, 2018

GK Investments Acquires Shares in Gray’s Pepper Products

[KINGSTON, JAMAICA – JANUARY 10, 2018] GK Investments Limited (GK Investments), a subsidiary of GraceKennedy Limited (GraceKennedy), has acquired a 33 1/3 % stake in Gray’s Pepper Products Limited, one of Jamaica’s largest processors of seasonings and sauces.

GK Investments’ acquisition of the shares in Gray’s Pepper will allow for the investment necessary to grow the business’s current product portfolio locally and internationally. This investment will further accelerate plans for research and development that will result in a more compelling and diverse product offering.

A family owned and operated business, Gray’s Pepper will continue to be led by Andrew Gray, the company’s Managing Director since 1995. Andrew expressed his approval of the investment by GK Investments. “The business relationship with GraceKennedy and Gray’s spans over 46 unbroken years. We have always viewed GraceKennedy as our partner and have now just formalized it. With this partnership GraceKennedy will now be fully vertically integrated with respect to their hot pepper sauce - from farm to table. We see this as a win-win situation and now expect our company to become the largest sauce producer in the Caribbean by the end of 2018,” he remarked.

In commenting on the acquisition, GraceKennedy’s Group CEO Don Wehby said, “This investment in Gray’s Pepper Products is in keeping with our continued commitment to Jamaica’s agroprocessing industry. We fully support developing our home-grown produce into creating valueadded products in order to successfully compete on the world market. There is great demand for Grace hot sauces and jerk spice products globally and this investment will build the capacity of Gray’s pepper to further contribute to our supply chain. This is in keeping with our mission to take the taste of Jamaica to the world. We are looking forward to continuing our relationship with Andrew and the Gray family”.

Gray’s Pepper Products Limited was established by Lloyd W. Gray almost 50 years ago. It operates from a 20,000 square foot modern manufacturing facility, and has an extensive supply network of farmers. Based in Savannah-la-Mar, Westmoreland, the family-owned and operated business specialises in producing pepper sauces. The current portfolio of products includes the Gray’s brand of Hot Pepper Sauce, Fish & Meat Sauce, Habanero Sauce, Scotch Bonnet Sauce, Jerk Sauce, and Jerk Seasoning. It also provides private labelling for several Jamaican brands including Grace.

Throughout its history, Gray’s has received a number of awards including the Westmoreland Chamber of Commerce MSME Achievement Award in 2010, the WCC Medium Business Award in 2011 and the NCB Nation Builder Award in 2013. In 2017, the company attained SQF Certification which is a Global Food Safety Standard.

“GK Investments has a mandate to identify investment opportunities that leverage GraceKennedy’s global platform to unlock value for shareholders. Steven Whittingham and his team continue to do an outstanding job in fulfilling this mandate” said GraceKennedy Group CEO, Don Wehby.


Contact: Klao Bell Lewis
Head of Corporate Communications
Tel. (876) 809-1121
 

Source:
The Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange Limited
Thursday January 11th 2018