Food Mergers and Acquisitions

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

Kraft Says Won't Overpay for Cadbury as Revenue Misses Chicago, Nov. 3 - Kraft Foods Inc said it would not overpay for British chocolatier Cadbury Plc on Tuesday after disappointing investors by posting weaker-than-expected quarterly revenue and cutting its full-year sales forecast.

04/11/2009

Barry Callebaut to Acquire Spanish Chocolate Maker Chocovic Zurich, November 4, 2009 - Barry Callebaut, the world's leading manufacturer of high-quality cocoa and chocolate products, signed an agreement with the Nederland Group to acquire Spanish chocolate maker Chocovic, S.A., specializing in chocolate and specialty products for industrial and artisanal customers.

04/11/2009

Carlsberg to Strengthen Its Position in the Vietnamese Market Nov 4, 2009 - Carlsberg and Hué People's Committee have signed a so-called Memorandum of Understanding in which the Committee confirms its support for Carlsberg to acquire the Committee's 50% shareholding in Hué Brewery.

04/11/2009

European Commission Clears Acquisition of Subsidiaries of Univeg by Univeg and Ciccolella 3 November 2009 - The European Commission has granted clearance under the EU Merger Regulation to the acquisition of joint control of Univeg Holding B.V.'s flower and plant activities (Univeg F&P) by Univeg Holding B.V. (Univeg) of The Netherlands and F.lli Cicolella S.p.a (Ciccolella) of Italy.

03/11/2009

Lur Berri Iceland ehf Takeover Bid on the Shares of Alfesca hf Successful Nov 3, 2009 - DragonKnight Advisors (France, UK) and MPE Finances (France) linked up with Nýi Kaupþing banki (Iceland) advised on the takeover bid on the shares of Alfesca hf. made by Lur Berri Iceland ehf, a subsidiary of Lur Berri Holding SAS.

03/11/2009

Peet's Coffee & Tea to Acquire Diedrich Coffee for USD 213 Million Emeryville, Calif., Nov. 2 - Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc. and Diedrich Coffee, Inc. announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Peet's will acquire Diedrich in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $26.00 per share or a total value of approximately $213 million.
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03/11/2009

Kraft Seen Going Hostile with Original Cadbury Bid London, Nov 2 - Kraft is likely to formalise its original offer for Cadbury over the next week, keeping a price increase off the table but in effect turning the bid hostile, said sources close to the matter.

02/11/2009

Cosan to Focus Investments on Core Brazil Business Sao Paulo, Oct 30 - After years of diversifying, Brazilian sugar and ethanol giant Cosan now plans to focus investments on expanding its existing business, the group's new chief executive said.

02/11/2009

Inza Finalises Takeover of the Yogho! Yogho! and Choco! Choco! Brands Amersfoort, the Netherlands, Nov 2 - The European Commission has given its approval for the acquisition of the Yogho! Yogho! and Choco! Choco! brands by the Belgian dairy co-operative Inza cvba (a subsidiary of Milcobel cvba) from Royal FrieslandCampina.

02/11/2009

Russia: X5 Receives AMS Consent to Acquire Paterson Amsterdam, 28 October2009 - X5RetailGroupN.V., Russia's largest retailer in terms of sales, today announced that it has received an unconditional consent from the Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service with regard to a potential transaction to acquire Paterson supermarket chain.

28/10/2009

Evonik Finalizes Sale of AlzChem Group Essen, 27 October 2009 - Germany-based Evonik Industries AG has finalized the sale of the AlzChem Group to the Luxembourg-based private equity fund bluO. The deal was closed on October 27, 2009, after it was approved by the boards and the relevant antitrust authorities. Less debts, the cash sale price amounts to Euro 78.5 million.

27/10/2009

EU Commission Approves Proposed Acquisition of Pepsi Bottling Group by PepsiCo Brussels, 27 October 2009 - The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition by PepsiCo, Inc. of one of its bottlers, The Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG) , both of the US.
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27/10/2009

European Commission Approves Proposed Acquisition of PepsiAmericas by PepsiCo Oct 27 - The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition by PepsiCo, Inc. of one of its bottlers, PepsiAmericas (PAS) , both of the US. After examining the operation, the Commission concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it.

27/10/2009

Cadbury Investor Lends Credence to 820p Kraft Bid London, Oct 26 - Cadbury Plc investor Mario Gabelli has given further encouragement to Kraft Foods Inc that a bid for the British confectioner could succeed if pitched around 820 pence.

26/10/2009

Saudi Savola, Tate & Lyle Seal Deal on Stakes Sale Riyadh, Oct 25 - London-based Tate and Lyle Plc's has agreed to sell its minority stakes in Egyptian and Saudi sugar units to its Saudi-based partner, Savola Group , which bets on soaring sales from the units this year.

26/10/2009

Heineken Has Held Talks to Buy Femsa Philadelphia, Oct 25 - Dutch brewer Heineken has held discussions to buy the brewing operations of Mexican conglomerate Femsa, the Financial Times reported on Sunday in its electronic edition.

26/10/2009

France: Bakery Firm Jacquet Acquires Pancake Producer from Groupe Soufflet 23 October 2009 - France's Groupe Soufflet has sold its pancake business Creperie Lebreton to Jacquet, a leading French baker and part of the Limagrain Group.

23/10/2009