Fri, 04 May 2012 | BUSINESS SALE
A Chinese firm has agreed to buy a 60 per cent stake in Weetabix, the UK's second biggest maker of breakfast cereals.
Shanghai-based Bright Food purchased the majority stake in the firm in a deal which puts a value of £1.2 billion (including debt) on the firm following lengthy discussions regarding the buy-out.
It marks the latest in a trend for acquisitions made by the Chinese firm as Bright Food is looking to raise its profile by building up a collection of foreign brands. Weetabix should allow it to do this as it owns a number of recognisable names, including Alpen muesli, Ready Brek and Weetabix itself.
Wang Zhongnan, chairman of Bright Food, said in a statement regarding the purchase: “As China's leading food group, we are pleased to become the controlling shareholder of Weetabix.
"Weetabix has an excellent product portfolio, including leading British cereal brand Weetabix and other category-leading brands."
Weetabix management and private equity owners Lion Capital will keep a 40 per cent stake in the company.
The firm has been established for around 80 years and was bought by a private equity firm back in 2004. In its native UK market, it is second to Kellogg in terms of market share.
The business operates in the UK with an international presence and specialises in providing comprehensive recruitment solutions to customers in the technical sector.
The company has traded for 16 years, based in the Northwest and operating nationally providing temporary staff to large corporate clients.
The company is well-established and operates from a third party owned quarry in Lincolnshire. The business quarries, manufactures and supplies a range of aggregate products, gabion stone and provides associated products and services throughout the Un...
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