Greencore may return to Northern Foods with new offer

Shares in Northern Foods today soared 15% after its management backed a £342m (€402m) buy-out offer from the owner of the Harry Ramsden’s fish restaurants.

Ranjit Singh Boparan’s last-minute offer on Friday for the Goodfella’s Pizza and Fox’s biscuits manufacturer prompted its management to ditch a previous deal involving a merger with sandwich maker Greencore.

The Irish firm said it is considering its options and according to the Financial Times may return with a sweetened offer for Northern.

Northern’s shares rose to 72.5p, broadly in line with Mr Boparan’s offer price of 73p per share.

Mr Boparan wants to combine Northern with his other food businesses, including chicken producer 2 Sisters, to create a major player in the food industry with £2bn (€2.35bn) of annual sales.

Previously, Northern’s management recommended that shareholders vote for the merger with Greencore they announced in November that would see the creation of a new company Essenta Foods. But now they are backing Mr Boparan’s cash offer.