Danish BHJ acquires majority stake in Australian firm’s pet food manufacturer

Cool-Off is Staughton Group’s pet food ingredients division, with BHJ taking a majority stake in it in partnership with the Staughton family.

According to the Australian Financial Review (AFR) business news portal, the deal reportedly closed for more than A$100 million (€60.3M/$65.2M). 

“Our Cool-Off division has grown rapidly over the past decade to a scale whereby we see the global connectivity BHJ represents as being critical to continuing to service our supply partners as efficiently as possible,” says Ed Staughton, Managing Director at Staughton Group. 

“We see BHJ as the ideal majority owner for Cool-Off, and its next stage of development will benefit from their deep connectivity to end markets in Europe, Asia and the United States.”

Over 4 decades in business

Established in 1982, the division has grown to become one of Australia’s largest fresh and frozen pet ingredients businesses. The business procures and processes lamb, beef, pork, wild game, marine proteins and co-products through its network across the country’s East Coast. 

Then, the ingredient supplier produces mechanically deboned meat, offal, and protein powders for pet food manufacturers in Australia, Europe and the US. 

Retaining stake

The Staughton Group, which received a growth capital investment from US-based specialist investor AGR Partners in 2021, will retain the Murray River Pet Foods (MRPF) division as its sole shareholder. 

MRPF operates in a separate facility with a management team in Howlong, New South Wales. It focuses on air-dried, extruded, and baked products and provides co-pack, private label and branded products. 

“The business is undergoing material investment in equipment and infrastructure over the balance of 2024 to further develop a large-scale finished pet food manufacturing plant,” a Staughton Group spokesperson says in a statement.