Valeo Foods, the Irish food firm, is acquiring the UK sweetmaker Tangerine Confectionery from private equity fund Blackstone in a deal worth in excess of £100 million ($127 millino), according to Sky News and Food Manufacture reports.
The acquisition is said to include manufacturing sites in Pontefract, York, Blackpool, Cleckheaton and Liverpool that together employ more than 1,000 staff, and will bring together traditional confectionery brands including Poppets, Fox’s, XXX, Barratt’s, Dip Dabs, Sherbet Fountain and Refreshers.
The deal would be Valeo Foods second major play in the confectionery space in less than a year. Late in 2017 the firm acquired the confectionery arm of Finnish company Raisio for an enterprise value of €100 million ($121 million).
Tangerine Confectionery became a pure-play sweets firm last year following the sale of its Butterkist popcorn brand to KP Snacks, part of the German giant Intersnack.
Source: Sky News / Food Manufacture