UK-based snack food manufacturer United Biscuits, whose brands include McVitie's, Jacob’s and KP Nuts, is to be put up for sale by its private equity owners, Blackstone and PAI Partners.
A number of banks, including Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, are understood to be in competition to handle the sale, which is likely to begin in the autumn.
Owners Blackstone and PAI Partners bought United Biscuits for £1.6 billion in late 2006, and are said to be looking to realize around £2 billion from the sale. It is understood they may be willing to sell UB’s snacks division and its biscuits unit to different buyers, if necessary, to maximise the sale. They could even seek a Stock Exchange listing if offers fall short of expectations.
United Biscuits' listed rival Premier Foods has been tipped as a possible buyer for the group in the past, and there is speculation that Kraft Foods may be interested in some brands, but after its recent acquisition of Cadbury any such move would be controversial, to say the least.
United Biscuits was formed in 1948 by the merger of two Scottish family businesses, McVitie & Price and MacFarlane Lang. It now has 11 factories across the UK and another four in Europe, producing a broad range of food products including Twiglets, Jacob's Cream Crackers, Digestives, Hobnobs and Jaffa Cakes.
