Warburg Pincus exits Premier Foods to Japan's Nissin

Warburg will sell about 142.8 million shares at GBP0.63 apiece. According to the Financial Times, the PE firm first invested in Premier by taking a 13.7% interest as part of a GBP380 million share placing in March 2009 when the stock was trading in a range of about GBP0.28-0.37.

Nissin, which markets brands such as Cup Noodles, Soba and Top Ramen, is now understood to be Premier's largest stakeholder and is eligible to appoint a non-executive director to the company's board. "By gaining a strategic investor who understands and supports our growth ambitions, we have an exceptional opportunity to deliver shareholder value," Premier chairman David Beever said in a statement.

Premier recorded after-tax profit of GBP21.7 million in the first half of financial year 2016, compared to a GBP49.1 million loss in the same period of the prior year. Revenue for the period was down 0.8% year-on-year at GBP341.2 million.

The company rejected an offer from US spice manufacturer McCormick & Company last month at GBP0.52 per share, saying it represented an insufficient premium which significantly undervalued Premier and its prospects.

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• Topics
• North Asia
• Europe
• Trade sale
• Consumer
• Japan
• Warburg Pincus Asia