The poultry industry in Uganda is the latest beneficiary of cross border acquisition as a leading South African food brands manufacturer RCL Foods has attained a 33.5% stake in Hudani Manji Holdings Ltd (HMHL), the largest processors and suppliers of chicken and feeds in East Africa. The resultant company which will now be called HMH-Rainbow will become the largest processor and supplier of chicken feeds and fresh and frozen chicken locally and in the East and Central Africa region. RCL Foods, which is listed in the Johannesburg Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of about 16 billion Rand is expected to inject more funds into the Ugandan operation to grow the company’s operations in the region. This will include expansion of broiler farms to reach 540,000 birds per cycle within the next 18 months and rolling out of a network of Yo Kuku outlets to facilitate access of the company’s products both locally and regionally. It is interesting to note that the management of RCL Food reported that the choice of HMHL as its vehicle to venture into the East African market was due to relatively better investment climate in Uganda.

http://www.independent.co.ug/news/news/10500-yo-kuku-chicken-processor-enters-joint-venture-with-south-african-firm#sthash.jQnJdNPI.dpuf and http://www.thepoultrysite.com/poultrynews/35542/rcl-foods-expands-across-africa-with-ugandan-poultry-business-purchase/