Chinese food and beverage firm Wahaha is in a leading position to acquire United Biscuits' snacks business, KP Snacks, for £520m.
This move comes after the owners of United Biscuits, US private equity firm Blackstone and the French buy-out firm PAI Partners, put up the business for sale, reported the Sunday Telegraph.
Swiss financial services company Credit Suisse, which has been hired to run the sale, has sent a four-page sales document to nearly six potential buyers including Wahaha and cereal company Kellogg.
The final information memorandum will to be sent on 3 September 2012.
Earlier this month, United Biscuits completed the separation of its snacks business from the rest of its operations, and appointed the current president of Kraft Foods UK/Ireland Nick Bunker as the new chief executive officer, who will take charge on 1 September 2012.
The snacks division includes several brands such as McCoy's potato chips, Hula Hoops, Mini Cheddars and KP Nuts and has four factories in the UK, with a workforce of around 1,500.
The sale of the rest of the business, which represents nearly two-thirds of the company's sales and sells products including biscuits and cakes, is not likely to be initiated until 2013, reported Financial Times recently, citing people familiar with the matter.
Wahaha, which owns 60 production bases in 29 provinces in China, employs 30,000 people and posted a turnover of £6.8bn in 2011.
