Several of Australia’s best-loved brands, including FourN’Twenty, Nanna’s and Herbert Adams, have quietly gone into foreign hands, while one favorite has remained true blue.
Patties Foods, Australia’s largest meat pie-producing company, headquartered in Bairnsdale in Victoria, also owns Chefs Pride, Snowy River and Boscastle, which was recently bought by a major Asian conglomerate.
One of the largest private equity firms in Hong Kong, Pacific Alliance Group (PAG), bought Patties and took some of the country’s major labels with it.
Australian Made Products, a popular Facebook group with more than 160,000 followers, shared an image revealing that the popular FourN’Twenty was no longer owned by Aussie, leading people to brand the decision a “disgrace.”
“I will never buy FourN’Twenty again,” one woman commented.
Several of Australia’s best-loved brands, including FourN’Twenty, have quietly gone into foreign hands after a major Asian company bought its manufacturer
The exact amount of the deal to acquire Patties has not been disclosed but is reported to be over $500 million and will allow PAG to expand their Australian offering after purchasing Red Rooster, Porto and the WA-based Chicken Treat. for a similar amount in 2019.
Patties Foods boss Paul Hitchcock said the purchase of PAG would “unlock further investment and innovation.”
“It’s a recognition of our reputation as a highly respected food producer in Australia and New Zealand with a long list of beloved food brands,” he said.
Aussies are less convinced, some suggesting the headline brand has changed its iconic recipe.
Herbert Adams is now also owned by the Hong Kong conglomerate after its $500 million acquisition of Patties Foods
“I ate a couple of FourN’Twenty pies as a kid and they seemed good. Bought more recently and they were absolutely awful. Bah. Never again,” one man responded to the Australian Made Products post.
‘Very sad, isn’t it? I’m at a servo and they just swapped Mrs. Mac’s for FourN’Twenty,” a woman commented.
Many people said there was an easy solution for people who don’t want to support foreign companies by buying locally.
‘Buy your pies at your local bakery. I’m sure they would really appreciate your support,” said one woman.
Mrs Mac’s, a staple of the Australian market since 1954, remains Australian owned and manufactured
However, the Facebook group has revealed that Mrs Mac’s, a staple of the Australian market since 1954, remains Australian owned and manufactured.
“I love Ms. Mac’s products and prefer to buy them whenever I can,” one woman commented on the post.
“Always use Mrs. Mac’s microwave pies. They taste great,’ said another.
Sid Khotkar, PAG’s head of private equity and director of Australia and New Zealand, said the acquisition would “increase the strength of our company in Australia and New Zealand.”
Four’n’Twenty is the latest in a long line of iconic Australian brands bought up by overseas conglomerates.
The brand became synonymous with the VFL and then AFL after being founded in Bendigo, Victoria 75 years ago
Tim Tam maker Arnott’s was bought in the 1990s by the American Campbells Soup Company and sold on to the American investment fund KKR.
Breakfast table favorite Uncle Tobys is owned by Swiss company Nestle, Fosters beer is owned by Japanese giant Asahi and Tooheys is owned by compatriot and rival Kirin.
Even country clothing maker RM Williams, about as Australian as it gets, was sold to Louis Vuitton owner LVMH in France in 2013.
But in an encouraging move, that company was bought back in 2020 by mining magnate Andrew Forrest and his wife Nicola through their company Tattarang, returning the company to wholly Australian hands.
The acquisition of Patties and Vesco by PAG is subject to regulatory approval from the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), its New Zealand counterpart and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).