Following the listing on the JSE of international broad-line foodservice group Bid Corporation (Bidcorp), which houses the international and local foodservice operations and assets unbundled from Bidvest Group, at the end of last month, Bidcorp CEO Bernard Berson underscores the company as being “acquisitive” and “opportunistic” for the future.

“The world is our oyster, the global opportunities are there and it is up to us to find them, in addition to making sure we maximise what we already have,” Berson said at the listing of Bidcorp last month, noting that, with the company’s substantial operational base, there is significant potential to be harnessed from existing core operations.

Bidcorp, which unbundled from the Bidvest group in April, is present in developed and developing economies on five continents and comprises well-established, leading and rapidly growing market positions.

According to Berson, when integrated with Bidvest, Bidcorp became a more significant contributor over time, and started to represent about half of the group’s total operating profit.

“[However,] the two businesses were very different, with different requirements, different needs and strategies moving forward. The best way to ensure the continued success of both units [was] to unbundle,” he said, adding that the unbundling was aimed at providing Bidvest and Bidcorp with their own identity and independence going forward.

Berson described the listing as “an exceptionally exciting event”, noting that it represented the next step in the company’s journey “to becoming a global leader in the foodservice industry and positioned [Bidcorp] superbly for its next phase of organic and acquisitive growth”.

From its opening on the main board, Bidcorp’s share prices fluctuated between R260 and R270 a share, taking its market capitalisation to about R90-billion and making it “quite a sizeable company”, according to Berson.

While Bidcorp was satisfied with the level at which shares opened on May 31, Berson acknowledged that share prices would be volatile for a period.

He added that Bidcorp did not raise any equity from the unbundling and listing. “The question of access to capital didn’t enter into our requirements, so the JSE was an obvious and good choice for us,” he noted.

Berson suggested that Bidcorp’s focus as a standalone company would strengthen management’s determination to continue generating and enhancing sustainable, long- term returns for all stakeholders as it continued to ensure the delivery of improved efficiencies and robust cash flows.

Bidcorp’s listing on the JSE will further enable its management to focus on realising the potential in foodservice operations and on creating an improved platform from which to pursue both organic and acquisitive growth.

Benefits derived from the listing will include improved management focus, which will not only assist in identifying acquisition opportunities, both locally and abroad, but also enable management to mitigate and manage the specific risks and challenges facing Bidcorp’s diverse product range and geographic areas of operation.

This would enable management to dramatically increase its scope for entrepreneurial flair, said Berson.

JSE CEO Nicky Newton-King noted that the addition of Bidcorp to the JSE was a significant development for the market and represented “great potential” for the growth of food retailers and the wholesaler sector.

“This listing is the sixth on the JSE this year and provides investors with the ability to invest specifically in Bidvest’s extensive food assets around the world,” she said.

The JSE currently has eight companies in the food retailer and wholesaler sector with a market cap of about R220-billion. Overall, nearly 400 companies are listed on the JSE, with a market cap of nearly R15-trillion.

“They are coming to the market as part of one of the biggest industries on the JSE. The R1.5-trillion-strong consumer services industry has seen healthy growth over the past few years,” Newton-King noted.

Despite the current global economic climate, Berson noted that Bidcorp operates across the world in various economies, which have various degrees of challenges and opportunities.

“We are not seeing the global economy as all . . . bad, it is a bit anaemic, it is a little bit slow, but . . . not terrible headwinds, and even in South Africa our food business is doing relatively well, despite the headwinds that do exist.

“It is our responsibility . . . our challenge to make sure we can maximise our position no matter what the economic circumstances, and not just ride economies when they are strong,” Berson concluded.