Former Marks & Spencer chief executive Marc Bolland, along with ex-Unilever executive Harish Manwani are reportedly among the Blackstone executives said to be mulling a bid for Unilever's spreads business.
Sky News reports that Blackstone and CVC Capital Partners are seeking approval from Unilever to lodge a joint bid for the business, which includes the Flora brand. The business is valued at £6 billion, according to the news source.
Sky News reports that news of Blackstone and CVC's bid for the business follows on from another consortium, comprised of Clayton Dubilier & Rice and Bain Capital reportedly also eyeing the operation. Former Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy is an advisor to Clayton Dubilier & Rice.
Exiting Spreads
Announcing the company's half-year results on July 20, Unilever said, 'Following our strategic review earlier this year, we announced that we would be accelerating savings programmes and being more active in the development of our portfolio, including exiting from our spreads business. This will mean spending significant funds on restructuring costs.'
In April, Unilever confirmed its intention to either sell or demerge its spreads business.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
