“The announcement today marks a further step in reshaping and sharpening our portfolio for long-term growth,” said Chief (Taiwan OTC: 3345.TWO – news) Executive Paul Polman. “The consideration recognises the market leading brands and the improved momentum we have achieved.”
The spreads business has been in decline for years as people eat less bread and margarine, but Unilever has taken steps to stem the decline and the unit is very profitable. That made it attractive to private equity firms who were the main bidders in the auction run by Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS-PB – news) and Morgan Stanley (Xetra: 885836 – news) .
Based in New York, KKR had $153 billion in assets under management as of the end of September. The firm has a long history in the consumer sector and it has investments in India’s Coffee Day Resorts and Chinese white goods maker Qingdao Haier. Earlier this year, KKR bought majority control of vitamin maker Nature’s Bounty.
The deal with Unilever is expected to close mid-2018, subject to regulatory approvals and employee consultations.
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Source: Yahoo News
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