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Article: UB sold to private equity groups in GBP 1.6bn deal
- Article from:
- The Scotsman
- Article date:
- October 26, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2006 The Scotsman. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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TWO private equity giants yesterday agreed to snap up United
Biscuits, Britain's biggest biscuit maker, for GBP 1.6 billion
including debt.
It came as the unions urged the buyers to sort out the pension
deficit problems at the group, which was formed from the merger of
two Scottish companies, McVitie & Price with Macfarlane Lang & Co, in
1948.
Blackstone, of the United States, and European firm PAI Partners
are paying a little less than the GBP 1.7bn originally expected for
UB, whose brands include McVitie's Jaffa Cakes and Jacob's Cream
Crackers.
As part of the deal, PAI increases its current 40 per cent stake
in UB to about 50 per cent.
UB is Europe's second-largest biscuit maker after ...