Food Mergers and Acquisitions

Castle Harlan, CHAMP Complete Sale of United Malt to GrainCorp New York, Nov. 13 - Castle Harlan, Inc., the New York-based private equity firm, and its Australian affiliate, CHAMP Private Equity, announced today that they had completed the sale of United Malt Holdings (UMH), the world's fourth largest producer of malt for the distilling and brewing industries and a company that has grown more than four-fold since the two firms acquired it three years ago.

13/11/2009

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. Acquires Timothy's Coffees of the World, Inc. Waterbury, Vt., Nov. 13 - Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. announced today that the Company has acquired Timothy's Coffees of the World, Inc. from an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, Inc. for a cash purchase price of approximately $157 million, in U.S. dollars, subject to adjustment.

13/11/2009

Zanetti Sees LatAm Coffee Acquisitions Nov. 12 - Italy's privately held Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group sees potential for acquisitions of coffee farms and roasters in South America next year, the founder of the company said on Thursday.

13/11/2009

Blackstone, Lion Complete Orangina Sale to Suntory Tokyo, Nov 13 - Private equity firms Blackstone Group and Lion Capital said they completed the sale of soft drinks maker Orangina Schweppes to Japanese brewer Suntory.
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13/11/2009

Banks to Sell 25% of Slovenia's Mercator Ljubljana, Nov 11 - Six Slovenian banks plan to sell their joint stake of some 25 percent in the country's largest food retailer, Mercator , Slovenian daily Dnevnik said on Wednesday.

12/11/2009

IFR Capital to Buy German and Polish Business Units of Uniq with an Aim to Create Pan-European Food Business Nov 12 - IFR Capital said its unit had agreed to buy the German and Polish business units of Uniq Plc for 28.5 million euros ($42.75 million) in cash, with an aim to create a pan-European food business.

12/11/2009

Syngenta Acquires U.S. Lettuce Seed Companies Basel, Nov. 12 - Syngenta announced today the signing of agreements to acquire two U.S.-based lettuce seed companies: Synergene Seed & Technology, Inc. and Pybas Vegetable Seed Co., Inc.

12/11/2009

Japan FTC Asks for More Info on Kirin-Suntory Merger Tokyo, Nov 11 - Japan's Fair Trade Commission said on Wednesday it had asked brewers Kirin Holdings and Suntory Holdings for additional information on their possible merger.

12/11/2009

Pulmuone Cornerstone Corporation Commences Tender Offer for All Outstanding Shares of Monterey Gourmet Foods Salinas, Calif., Nov. 10 - Pulmuone Cornerstone Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pulmuone U.S.A., Inc., announced today the commencement of a tender offer for all outstanding shares of common stock of Monterey Gourmet Foods, Inc. for $2.70 in cash per share, without interest and less any applicable withholding taxes.

10/11/2009

USA: Football Legend Joe Montana Sells 500-Acre Wine Country Estate in Sonoma County for USD 49 Mln Calistoga, Nov. 9 - Villa Montana, the magnificent California wine country estate owned by football legend Joe Montana and his wife Jennifer, has come onto the real estate market for $49 million—a fitting price for a property owned by the former 49er.

10/11/2009

Top Cadbury Investor Says Kraft Needs to Raise Bid London, Nov 9 - A top shareholder in Cadbury said investors in the British confectionery firm would find it hard to turn down an offer of more than 8 pounds a share from U.S. suitor Kraft.

10/11/2009

USA: Mistral Equity Partners Invests USD 24 Mln in Chef Solutions Holdings New York, Nov. 9 - Mistral Equity Partners, a private equity firm focused on the consumer and media sectors, announced today that it has invested $24 million in Chef Solutions Holdings, LLC and its affiliates, which, through its operating subsidiary Orval Kent Food Company, Inc., is the second largest manufacturer in North America of fresh prepared foods for retailers and food service accounts.

09/11/2009

Cadbury Rejects Kraft Bid, Says Offer 'Worse Than Previous One' 9 November 2009 - Cadbury plc notes the announcement of an unsolicited offer by Kraft Foods Inc. of 300p and 0.2589 Kraft shares per Cadbury share, implying a value for each Cadbury share of 717 pence (based on the closing price of USD 26.78 for a Kraft share on 6 November 2009 and an exchange rate of 1.6609 USD / GBP).

09/11/2009

Ball to Acquire Partner's Interest in Beverage Packaging Plant in China Broomfield, Colo., Nov. 9 - Ball Corporation announced today that it has agreed to acquire Guangdong Jianlibao Group Co., Ltd.'s 65 percent interest in a joint venture metal beverage can and end plant in Sanshui, China. Ball has owned 35 percent of the joint venture plant since 1992.
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09/11/2009

Kraft Launches Formal GBP 9.8 Billion Bid for Cadbury 9 November 2009

09/11/2009

Cadbury Awaits Kraft Bid Deadline, Shares Tick Up London, Nov 9 - Cadbury's shares edged up in early trade on Monday as the clock ticked towards a 1700 GMT deadline for Kraft Foods to either make a formal takeover bid for the British confectionery group or walk away.

09/11/2009

Can Kraft CEO Pass on Cadbury Chocolate? Chicago/London, Nov 8 - Can Kraft Foods Inc Chief Executive Officer Irene Rosenfeld survive without a chocolate fix?

09/11/2009

Cadbury Descendant Fears Loss of Firm's UK Heritage London, Nov 6 - It's perhaps understandable that Felicity Loudon bristles at the thought of British chocolate maker Cadbury potentially falling into the hands of U.S. foods giant Kraft.

06/11/2009

Kraft Will Only Pay 800p/Share for Cadbury London, Nov 4 - U.S. food group Kraft will be willing to pay only 800 pence a share for Cadbury after Kraft's CEO cautioned on overpaying for the British confectionery group, Investec Securities said on Wednesday.

04/11/2009

Netherlands: Unimills Expands Product Portfolio with Acquisition of Lecithin Facility Zwijndrecht, 4 November, 2009 - Unimills, leading supplier of vegetable oil based ingredients for the food industry and the European subsidiary of world's largest palm oil originator Sime Darby, announced today that it has acquired a lecithin production facility, previously owned by IOI Loders Croklaan.

04/11/2009