Tyson Foods and Malayan Flour Mills Berhad (MFM) announced a partnership in which Tyson Foods will invest in the Malaysia-based company’s vertically integrated poultry business, which will add more supply flexibility for both companies. The transaction is subject to approval by the shareholders of Malayan Flour Mills Berhad, amongst others.

“Once completed, the poultry deal will optimize our existing Malaysia business and expand MFM’s poultry business,” said Chris Langholz, International President of Tyson Foods. “This partnership will add more supply flexibility for both companies in serving halal-certified poultry to consumers and customers in the country and across priority export markets.”

Tyson Foods Malaysia currently operates one plant and one innovation center. MFM’s vertically integrated poultry business includes feed mills, hatcheries, farms and processing facilities.

“We are pleased to partner with Tyson Foods to expand MFM’s long-established poultry business,” said Teh Wee Chye, managing director for MFM. “Tyson Foods is one of the world’s largest food production companies with a strong global manufacturing and distribution footprint. Malaysia is one of the key poultry markets in Southeast Asia, with a high per capita consumption of poultry. Together with Tyson Foods, we look forward to increasing our halal poultry product offerings in the country, especially in the further processed poultry segment, as well as exporting to demand markets with the help of Tyson Foods’ global network.”

Malaysia’s halal industry market value is expected to reach $147.4 billion USD (RM614.36 billion) by 2025, according to the Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC). The country exports about $9 billion USD (RM35.4 billion) in halal-certified products.

“Our global resources and robust innovation capabilities paired with MFM’s more than 30 years of expertise as a leading poultry player in the country, enable both companies to make halal-certified products more readily available and affordable,” said Tan Sun, president of Tyson Foods APAC.

MFM’s gold standard in Halal certified poultry products complements Tyson Foods’ Malaysia business, which is also recognized as a leader in the country’s Halal food industry.

In FY20, Tyson Foods generated $6 billion USD in international sales, which included U.S. export sales. Rabobank Singapore acted as the international financial advisor to MFM.  

About MFM

Established in 1961, Malayan Flour Mills Berhad (MFM) is the pioneer in the flour milling industry in Malaysia. Over the years, MFM has grown to become one of the leading flour millers in Malaysia. Outside of Malaysia, MFM also has presence in the flour milling industry in Vietnam and Indonesia. In Indonesia, MFM is one of the shareholders in PT Bungasari Flour Mills Indonesia, along with Toyota Tsusho Group (Japan) and PT FKS Food and Ingredients (Indonesia). MFM ventured into the poultry feed business in 1983 and since then has expanded considerably across the poultry value chain in breeding, farming and processing, to become one of the leading poultry integrators in Malaysia. In November 2019, MFM commissioned a new state-of-the-art poultry processing plant with a processing capacity of up to 280,000 birds per day. MFM’s group revenues in FY19 were RM2.7 billion. 

About Tyson Foods

Tyson Foods is one of the world’s largest food companies and a recognized leader in protein. Founded in 1935 by John W. Tyson and grown under three generations of family leadership, the company has a broad portfolio of products and brands like Tyson, Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farm, Ball Park, Wright, Aidells, ibp, and State Fair. Tyson Foods innovates continually to make protein more sustainable, tailor food for everywhere it’s available and raise the world’s expectations for how much good food can do. Headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas, the company has 139,000 team members. Through its Core Values, Tyson Foods strives to operate with integrity, create value for its shareholders, customers, communities and team members and serve as a steward of the animals, land and environment entrusted to it.