UPDATE 1-S.Africa's Bidvest says no to food unit sale

* Prefers to grow organically, acquisitively

* To buy businesses in Chile, Baltics, Egypt (Adds details, background)

JOHANNESBURG, AUG 18 - South Africa's Bidvest Group said on Thursday its board has recommended against selling its food-service unit and the group instead will look to grow organically and acquisitively.

The company's decision not to sell the food service business hit Bidvest shares, which were trading 3.4 percent lower at 149.73 rand by 0758 GMT. Shares in the company fell as by as much as 3.75 percent in earlier trade.

The industrial conglomerate -- with interests in freight to financial services -- appointed a committee to review its food service business after receiving an unsolicited proposal for the unit last month.

The review had shown the current proposals were only beneficial in the short term, Bidvest said.

The Board concluded that, whilst in the short term the proposals would have realised significant amounts of cash, they would not have optimised value nor the strategic benefits that are likely to flow from the current Bidvest structure over the medium term," Bidvest said in a statement.

The company said it had concluded agreements to buy food service business in Egypt, the Baltics and Chile.

Running brands such as 3663 Wholesale and Deli XL, the food-service business contributed more than half of the group's sales of 58.4 billion rand ($8,256,517,559.238) in the six months to the end of December.

($1 = 7.073 South African Rand) (Reporting by Helen Nyambura-Mwaura; Editing by Marius Bosch)