PEP set to approach potential buyers of Griffin’s Foods

Kellogg, General Mills, Nestle and China's Bright Food Group are among those that could place bids for the New Zealand snack food company, Reuters reported, citing a source familiar with the situation. PEP is said to have appointed UBS and Goldman Sachs to advise on the transaction.

Griffin's has a 50% share of the New Zealand biscuit market and claims annual sales of more than NZ$300 million ($274.4 million). It makes biscuits and crackers including Milk Arrowroot, Chocolate Chippes and Gingernuts.

PEP bought the business from Danone in June 2006 for a reported NZ$385 million. Since then, the export share of total sales has risen from 5% to 30%, with greater penetration of Australia, Europe and North America.

It is no surprise that Bright Food is being linked with the asset. The Chinese company last month agreed to purchase a 75% stake in Australia's Manassen Foods from CHAMP Private Equity and Wang Zongnan, its chairman, has said that further acquisitions in the region are likely.

PEP has already exited one food and beverage portfolio company via a trade sale this year. In late August, PEP and Unitas Capital sold Independent Liquor to Japan's Asahi Group for NZ$1.525 billion. The private equity firms, which each owned 43.9% of the company, secured a 1.5x return on their original NZ$1.2 billion investment made in 2006.

The recent spate of trade sales by Australian buyout firms comes as they try to exit companies bought at the height of the credit boom in 2006-2007 and distribute the proceeds to investors.

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• Topics
• Consumer
• Australasia
• Exits
• New Zealand
• Australia
• Pacific Equity Partners
• Bright Food Group
• Trade sale
• Consumer