Fonterra books $64m gain on sale of Goodminton-Mars deal

Fonterra NZMP chief operating offiier Kelvin Wickham. Photo / NZ Herald.

Fonterra said it would make $64 million on the sale of its interest in Germany's sports nutrition company Goodminton A.G. just 18 months after investing in it.

The transaction arose after US confectionery giant Mars signed a deal to buy Goodminton's targeted nutrition business, Berlin-based Foodspring.

The co-op, which is selling assets to reduce debt, said in March last year that it teamed up with Goodminton and Foodspring to tap into the rapidly growing active nutrition consumer segment, which is worth $200 billion annually.

Fonterra's chief operating officer NZMP, Kelvin Wickham, said Foodspring had been an "exciting" early activity for the co-op's new Sports and Active Lifestyle business unit.

"From day one both Foodspring and ourselves could see how our two companies would complement each other to make the most of the fast-growing sports and active market," he said in a statement.

Both companies could see the growth opportunities within the targeted nutrition market, Wickham said.

Over the past 18 months, Foodspring had become the fastest growing targeted nutrition brand in Europe, he said.

At the same time, the partnership gave Fonterra immediate and direct access to the fast-growing consumer sports and active lifestyle segment, he said.

Wickham said sports nutrition was no longer about professional athletes or bodybuilders.

"This continues to be a really attractive market for our dairy protein and dairy speciality ingredients and we will keep up the momentum in this market," he said.

Wickham said Fonterra would continue its relationship with Foodspring and its new owners Mars - an NZMP customer.

Goodminton AG is a venture capital-backed holding company that specialises in sports and lifestyle nutrition brands.

Fonterra is in the throes of selling assets to reduce debt by $800 million.

Last month, the company sold its icecream unit Tip Top to global dairy giant Froneri for $380m.