Global Foods will offer $8.3m for the ginger division of Buderim Ginger

China business specialist Dennis Lin to take charge of a planned sale of Buderim Ginger’s ginger assets.

Under the proposed offer Global Foods will offer $8.3m for the ginger division of Buderim Ginger on a going concern basis.

China business specialist Dennis Lin, who as executive chairman of baby food company Bubs Australia has helped turn it into a $500m branded manufacturer with strong exports into Asia, is to take charge of a planned sale of Buderim Ginger’s ginger assets to transform it into a pure player in the lucrative macadamia nut market.

Mr Lin is also a colleague of Albert Tse, businessman, former Macquarie Bank executive and husband to Jessica Rudd, the daughter of former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Around four years ago Mr Tse gave Buderim Ginger a $10m convertible note, and later became a small personal shareholder in the ginger company.

Mr Tse is a backer of Bubs, and has extensive experience in the food business including helping to organise a takeover of Capilano Honey.

Now the duo could be sharing ideas on the macadamia business. The plans could be big, with Buderim Ginger after its sale of the ginger business to change its name to Health and Plant Protein Limited and seek opportunities in a range of plant-based protein food products.

The ASX-listed Buderim Ginger announced late on Monday night that it had received a takeover offer for its ginger assets, comprising of a factory, tourism sites and a portfolio of ginger brands from Global Foods.

The takeover offer follows a decision in 2018 to review its ginger business with a number of approaches made to the company and Global Foods making the best bid. Global Foods is mostly owned by businessman George Vasili and is also a major shareholder in Buderim Ginger with a stake of 15.86 per cent.

Albert Tse. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/The Australian

Under the proposed offer Global Foods will offer $8.3m for the ginger division of Buderim Ginger on a going concern basis subject to necessary adjustments for assumed liabilities, employee entitlements and working capital in the subsidiary entities.

If the takeover is approved by shareholders it is expected that current Buderim Ginger chief executive Andrew Bond will transfer with the ginger business to Global Foods.

This will leave an opening for new leadership at Buderim Ginger, which will emerge from the deal with key assets in the macadamia business where it is one of the biggest producers in the world through its businesses MacFarms in Hawaii and Royal Hawaiian Orchards in the United States.

Buderim Ginger announced on Monday night along with the takeover offer that its director Mr Lin would help oversee the transaction and from July 1 would become an executive director of Buderim Ginger to help drive the demerger and then take a leadership role in its future as a macadamia business and future strategies.

Mr Lin has built up a successful reputation in branded foods in Australia and in 2017 was appointed to the board of Bubs and later became chairman and last year was appointed executive chairman of the infant foods group. Under his leadership the Bubs share price has more than quadrupled and sealed strong export deals into Asia, particularly China.