Greencore to buy Uniq for €125m
The deal — which has already been accepted by 90% of Uniq’s shareholder base — marks the largest undertaken by Greencore since its £250m takeover of Hazlewood Foods 10 years ago. It also comes four months after the Irish food group admitted defeat in its bid to boost its British business through the takeover of Northern Foods.
The acquisition still requires full shareholder and regulatory approval, but it’s hoped that completion will be reached by the end of September. An extraordinary general meeting for Greencore shareholders will be held early next month; but nearly 38% of the group’s shareholder base has agreed in principle to the deal. Greencore is looking to raise more than €80m from a rights issue in order to partially fund the takeover. Barclays Capital is sole book-runner for the rights issue.
