Greencore to buy rival Bakkavor
A Greencore factory in Bristol, England.
Irish convenience food manufacturer Greencore agreed to buy rival Bakkavor on Wednesday, valuing the company at $1.2bn (€1.4bn).
Bakkavor had already rejected at least two previous offers from Greencore. In an update to the London Stock Exchange this morning, the board of Bakkavorsaid it would unanimously recommend the terms to Greencore's shareholders.
Greencore shareholders would own approximately 56% and Bakkavor shareholders would own approximately 44% of the combined group.
Dublin-headquartered Greencore was founded in 1991 following the privatisation of Irish Sugar.
The company supplies food including sandwiches, chilled prepared meals and cooking sauces to major supermarkets in Britain, as well as travel retail outlets and coffee shops.
It is led by chief executive officer Dalton Philips, who previously ran British grocer Morrisons until 2015 and was then CEO of the DAA.
Bakkavor supplies 3,500 products across meals, pizza, bread, salads and desserts to grocery retailers in the UK and US and international food brands in China. It employs 17,200 workers across 41 sites in the UK, US and China.
