Birds Eye will pay €805m to buy Findus ?
UNILEVER has agreed to sell its Italian frozen foods unit Findus to Birds Eye Iglo, which is owned by private equity group Permira, for €805m (£687.9m).
The sale represents the disposal of Unilever’s last remaining frozen foods business in Europe.
Unilever said in a statement that about 650 factory and head office staff at Findus, which made sales of €462m in 2009, would transfer to the new owner.
Permira had been neck and neck with Lion Capital in the race to buy Findus, ahead of BC Partners, according to analysts.
Unilever, which makes Dove body wash and Liptons tea, is selling Findus as part of its blueprint to double sales.
James Hill, chairman of Unilever Italy, said: “Findus is the lynchpin of an attractive and profitable frozen foods business and I am confident that it will prosper under the dedicated resource and focused management that the new owners will bring.”
Unilever is the second biggest consumer goods company in the world behind American powerhouse Procter & Gamble.
The deal will require the green light from European regulators before it can go ahead.
The sale included Findus’s factory in Cisterna, Italy, and brands 4 Salti in Padella, Sofficini, Capitan Findus and That’s Amore.