Retro sweet firm to be sold in £100m deal

Tangerine Confectionery

The firm behind some of Britain’s best known sweet brands is to be sold in a £100m deal.

Blackpool based Tangerine Confectionery is to be sold by its owner private equity firm Blackstone to European food giant Valeo.

Tangerine is best known for retro brands Dip Dab, Fruit Salads and Blackjacks.

According to reports a deal has been struck to sell the business to Valeo, which is partly-owned by Capvest, another private equity firm.

The deal is expected to complete in a matter of weeks.

It will bring together Tangerine’s portfolio – which includes Barratt, Dip Dab and Sherbet Fountain – with Big Bear Confectionery.

Tangerine currently has five production sites in the UK in Liverpool, York, Blackpool, Pontefract and Cleckheaton.

Big Bear makes Poppets, Pedro and Fox’s Glacier Mints. It was bought by Valeo last year from Finnish firm Raisio.

Irish company Valeo is owned by Seamus Fitzpatrick’s CapVest.

The deal will bring Valeo’s annual revenues up to some £800m.

The company owns food brands across Europe, with Balconi in Italy in its portfolio alongside, Odlums, Batchelors, Kelkin and Robert Roberts.

Despite the trend for healthier products in recent years the popularity for retro confectionery products has remained strong.

The other division of Tangerine, the popcorn brand Butterkist, was sold to Intersnack, the German owner of KP Snacks, last year.

Houlihan Lokey, the investment bank, has been advising Blackstone on the sale.

The other brands owned by Tangerine include Flumes,‎ Wham and York Fruits.

Blackstone bought Tangerine in 2011.

Click here to sign up to receive our new South West business news...
Close