UAC of Nigeria's ₦19.5 billion exit from Livestock Feeds Plc to agribusiness firm Sunbeth Treenuts and Sesame Limited marks the second major divestment by the conglomerate in weeks, raising questions about what the shake-up means for Nigeria's animal-feed industry and whether more corporate portfolio resets are coming.

UAC of Nigeria Plc, one of the country's oldest and most diversified conglomerates, is stepping away from a business it has owned for more than a decade. The company has agreed to hand its controlling stake in Livestock Feeds Plc to an agribusiness buyer in a deal that says as much about where UAC wants to put its capital next as it does about the animal-feed sector it is leaving behind.

What Happened
UAC of Nigeria Plc has agreed to sell its 73.29% shareholding in Livestock Feeds Plc to Sunbeth Treenuts and Sesame Limited in an all-cash transaction valued at N19.5 billion, with the deal, announced in a corporate disclosure signed by UAC's Company Secretary, valuing Livestock Feeds shares at N8.85 per share and remaining subject to regulatory approvals.

UAC disclosed the proposed divestment in a statement dated September 30, 2026, saying the transaction involves the sale of its controlling interest in Livestock Feeds, one of Nigeria's established animal feed manufacturers, which UAC acquired in 2013 and expanded into a national-scale feed business with production capacity and a distribution network serving farmers and customers across Nigeria. Established in 1963, Livestock Feeds manufactures and distributes animal feed and feed concentrates for poultry, aquaculture and livestock markets, operating production facilities in Ikeja, Aba and Kano with a nationwide distribution network. Under UAC's stewardship, the business grew considerably: UAC said Livestock Feeds' revenue increased fivefold and profitability increased 18-fold during its ownership, alongside expansion of the company's production capacity and distribution footprint.

The buyer brings a very different kind of scale to the table. Sunbeth is a global agro-export company with Nigerian roots, providing ethically sourced cocoa, cashew, and supply chain solutions to advance food security, with a vision to advance global food security by sourcing and exporting agro-commodities in a way that empowers origin producers. The global enterprise operates across key international markets, with footprints in South Africa, Cameroon, Dubai, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. The acquisition will bring Livestock Feeds into Sunbeth's broader agribusiness platform, which spans agricultural origination, supply-chain management, warehousing, trading and processing, with the transaction expected to combine Sunbeth's producer and sourcing networks and growing processing capabilities with Livestock Feeds' established manufacturing footprint, technical expertise, brands and nationwide distribution network. Sunbeth said it would work with Livestock Feeds' existing management and employees to build on the company's heritage while improving operational efficiency, supply-chain resilience, product quality and sustainable growth.

Why It Matters
The sale is not an isolated move. UAC's decision to sell its 73.29 percent stake in Livestock Feeds for N19.5 billion to Sunbeth comes shortly after agreeing to dispose of its 43 percent holding in DP World (formerly MDS Logistics) to TGI, marking another significant step in a portfolio reshaping exercise that is increasingly being driven by capital efficiency rather than simply expanding the size of the group. UAC's latest asset disposals point to a deeper portfolio reset as the conglomerate shifts capital away from businesses with heavy working-capital demands towards balance-sheet repair and higher-return operations.

The financials help explain why Livestock Feeds, specifically, became a candidate for exit. According to its audited FY2025 financial statements, Livestock Feeds generated N37.76 billion in revenue, but gross profit fell sharply to N2.33 billion from N6.43 billion in 2024, while operating profit declined to only N374 million from N4.70 billion. In December 2024, Livestock Feeds carried N19.33 billion of inventories and N13.71 billion of short-term borrowings. The volatility continued into this year: Livestock Feeds generated N14.82 billion in revenue in the first six months of 2026, down from N20.80 billion in the comparable period, yet operating profit was relatively stable at N2.09 billion compared with N2.05 billion a year earlier, while profit before tax increased sharply to N1.33 billion from N153 million. For a diversified holding company managing multiple businesses with different capital needs, a feed subsidiary with heavy inventory and working-capital requirements but inconsistent margins is precisely the kind of asset portfolio reviews tend to flag.

Industry Context
UAC's retreat from Livestock Feeds fits into a broader pattern of exits this year. UAC of Nigeria Plc has agreed to sell its 43% shareholding in DP World Logistics Limited (formerly MDS Logistics Limited) to 22 Plus Invest Limited, a member of the Tropical General Investments (TGI) Group, in a transaction that remains subject to regulatory approvals. That planned divestment came months after UAC completed the final stage of its acquisition and integration of C.H.I. Limited, suggesting UAC is simultaneously consolidating around businesses it wants to grow while shedding stakes that no longer fit its strategic focus. UAC keeps its packaged food, paints, animal feed, restaurant and real estate businesses, with its remaining Animal Feeds portfolio comprising Grand Cereals Limited, a private company in which UACN owns 71%, alongside its stake in Livestock Feeds until the Sunbeth deal closes.

For Sunbeth, the acquisition is a bet on an animal-feed market that remains structurally large even if individual operators face margin pressure. The Nigeria animal feed market reached approximately 15.45 million tons in 2025 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 1.80% between 2026 and 2035, reaching a volume of around 18.47 million tons by 2035. The southwestern part of Nigeria accounts for around 75 per cent of total feed mills in the country, and the livestock sector contributes around 5 per cent to the total GDP of the country, creating a flourishing landscape for animal feed demand. Poultry remains the engine of that demand, since the poultry sector accounts for a significant market share as meat and eggs are a staple part of the Nigerian diet, with this strong demand significantly contributing to the usage of poultry feed. At the continental level, Nigeria captured 28.22% of the African poultry feed market in 2025, though currency depreciation and port congestion inflate costs for imported soybean meal and vitamin premixes, challenging mill margins — a dynamic that likely contributed to the gross margin pressure Livestock Feeds experienced through 2025.

What Flipbz Thinks
Flipbz sees this transaction as a signal that Nigerian conglomerates are moving away from the "own everything adjacent" model that defined groups like UAC for decades. By exiting a feed business with heavy inventory financing needs and currency-exposed input costs, and simultaneously stepping back from a logistics stake it no longer controls outright, UAC appears to be concentrating capital in businesses where it holds either full control or clearer competitive advantage. For Sunbeth, absorbing an established manufacturer with a six-decade brand history and nationwide distribution is a faster route to scale than building processing capacity from scratch, particularly as it expands an agribusiness platform that already spans sourcing and export markets across four continents.

What to Watch
Market watchers should track how quickly the deal clears regulatory review from the SEC and NGX, and whether Sunbeth retains Livestock Feeds' existing brands and management team as promised. More broadly, UAC's back-to-back divestments this quarter raise a real question: if a conglomerate with UAC's scale is actively trimming its portfolio, could other diversified Nigerian firms facing similar working-capital and currency pressures follow with asset sales of their own in the months ahead.

The Bottom Line
UAC's ₦19.5 billion exit from Livestock Feeds is less a story about one feed company changing hands than about a legacy conglomerate deciding which businesses deserve its capital going forward. As Sunbeth absorbs a 63-year-old manufacturing and distribution network into its own agribusiness platform, the deal underscores a Nigerian animal-feed industry that remains fundamentally attractive on volume and demand, even as currency volatility and input costs keep testing the margins of the companies that supply it.