UBM Group Expands in the Pig Farming Sector

UBM Group, Hungary’s leading feed producer, has announced the acquisition of 50% of the pig farming firm ‘Mangal Ilona Sertéshizlalda’ Ltd.

The transaction is expected to close in July 2023, the purchase price will be paid by UBM from its own resources, without any loans, the amount was not disclosed. The founder, András Moldovan, will remain co-managing director for founder years, retaining a 50% stake. After the next 2-3 years of improvements, the value of the company, which currently produces 150,000 pigs a year, could increase several times over, UBM Group said.

UBM is entering an industry that will be profitable in the long term, as global consumption is expected to grow by around 10% a year in the coming years, the statement said.

The group expects to become a dominant player in commodity trading (distribution of feed-related products), the production and sale of feed supplements, premix production, feed mixing and distribution, as well as in the livestock production market.

The Group added that the expansion of the area of activity was also included in the corporate strategy presented at the beginning of March, which is why they decided to enter a new area. By 2026, the company will have built the most modern and sustainable pig farm in Europe, capable of rearing 50,000 pigs at a time, and plans to produce 350-500,000 fattening pigs a year through further acquisitions.

According to the company's website, UBM's activities started in 1996 with soya trading and in the following years expanded to include grain and feed supplements. The company now has production sites in Romania and Slovakia and international offices in Austria, Romania and Serbia. They closed the first half of their 2022-2023 financial year with their highest ever turnover of more than HUF 123 billion. The company also achieved a record profit after tax of HUF 1.898 billion. In the same period of the previous financial year, they closed with sales of HUF 50.4 billion and a profit of HUF 897 million, according to their report published at the end of March.