Irish admit defeat on Northern Foods
IRISH food firm Greencore has abandoned its pursuit of Northern Foods leaving the way clear for Harry Ramsden owner Ranjit Boparan to complete his takeover of the firm behind Lancashire’s Hollands Pies.
Greencore admitted that it had not been able to put together an offer that could rival the 73p per share bid from Boparan Holdings.
The company also revealed it had been attempting to assemble a deal which would have seen it buy the most attractive parts of Northern Foods and sell on the remainder of the company.
Greencore agreed a merger with Northern Foods last year which would have seen the creation of a new firm, Essenta, headquartered in Dublin.
But as a takeover panel deadline loomed, Mr Boparan tabled a rival £342m cash offer.
In a statement this morning, Greencore said: “For some time the board of Greencore has believed both in the considerable strategic merits of consolidation in the UK convenience food sector and in the strong logic of a combination between Greencore and Northern Foods.
“Over the past few weeks Greencore has been working with a partner in order to agree a simultaneous sale of certain of the Northern Foods branded businesses. This approach was intended to provide significant funding and allow Greencore to acquire only the parts of the Northern Foods business with the greatest synergy potential.
“This relatively complex structure required a range of stakeholders to reach agreement. However, after substantial investigation, the board has determined that an improved offer could not be concluded on terms which would deliver sufficiently strong returns to Greencore shareholders.”
Northern employs around 300 people at the Hollands Pies factory in Baxenden, Lancashire. It also has a factory making Fox’s biscuits in Kirkham near Blackpool.
