British-Dutch multinational company Unilever is reportedly planning to divest certain food brands from its consumer goods portfolio for £6bn.
Flora margarine spread and Stork butter brands are among the brands that are likely to be sold by Unilever, as reported by the Sunday Times.
As per the publication, Bain Capital, Clayton Dubilier, Rice and CVC are some of the private equity companies that working on deals for Unilever’s spreads business.
The consumer goods firm is yet to issue a formal statement about the divestiture.
Last month, Unilever had declined American food manufacturer Kraft Heinz’s $143bn merger proposal.
The two companies had amicably decided not to go further with the deal which had the potential to become the biggest takeover in the food industry, with sales revenue from the combined entity estimated at $84.8bn.
Unilever’s shareholders were to get $50 per each share as part of the deal with Kraft Heinz.
However, the deal could not go ahead with Kraft Heinz announcing that it found it too difficult to pursue a transaction with Unilever, as reported by the Reuters.
Unilever released a statement saying that there was no merit, either financial or strategic, for the company’s shareholders. Following which, the company announced the launch of a comprehensive review of options it had to “accelerate delivery of value” for the benefit of its shareholders.
Earlier in the month, British trade union GMB had urged Unilever to reassure its workers following the failed takeover by Kraft Heinz.
GMB said that it is concerned that the botched takeover could lead Unilever in cost-cutting measures that include sacking some of its employees to boost profits and appease shareholders.
