Struggling under a mountain of acquisition-induced debt, the UK's Premier Foods is reportedly seeking a large cash injection from private equity investors in order to shore up its wobbly capital structure and avoid breaching loan covenants.
Six months after the private equity fund CapVest announced the organizational merger of their frozen and chilled food (largely seafood) operations - Findus, Young's, and the Seafood Company, operating as FoodVest - FoodVest was picked up by the UK -based buyout fund Lion Capital.
Continue reading "Lion Capital Hauls in Europe's Biggest Seafood Operation from CapVest" »
Buyout fund Lion Capital has followed its August 2007 USD 500 million purchase of Russian juice drinks company Nidan Soki with the acquisition of a majority stake in the Russian Alcohol Group, the country's largest producer of vodka and ready-to-drink (RTD) alcoholic beverages. Russian Alcohol's Green Mark vodka is the largest brand by volume in Russia and one of the top 5 global brands.
Continue reading "Lion Capital Picks Up Russia's Biggest Vodka Maker" »
Lion Capital, which last year acquired the up-market chips maker Kettle Foods, has called in professional union busters to prevent the T&G section of Unite from organizing 340 workers at the company's Norwich facility. After the T&G successfully applied for union recognition in April, Lion engaged the "Omega Division" of US-based Burke Group, one of the most notorious US union-busting firms.
Continue reading "Lion Capital Calls in the Union-Busters" »
The biggest-ever leveraged buyout in the sluggish Russian buyout market has just been anounced, with Lion Capital buying the juice drinks company Nidan Soki for over USD 500 million. UK-based Lion Capital has been steadily expanding its portfolio of branded food companies.
Continue reading "Record Russian LBO as Lion Capital Buys Drinks Maker" »
Cadbury-Schweppes' projected sell off it's US drinks division to private equity appears to be advancing on schedule, following the March demerger of the two divisions.
Continue reading "Cadbury US Beverages Sale to "Unlock" Shareholder Windfall " »
On 15 March, Cadbury Schweppes annnounced plans to split up its confectionery and US beverages businesses. According financial news, the US beverages division may be bought by private equity groups like Lion Capital and Blackstone Group.
In 2005 Cadbury Schweppes sold its European beverages division, including the brands Schweppes, Orangina and Oasis, to Lion Capital and Blackstone for £1.3 billion pound.
Kettle Foods is the market leader in both the US and the UK for organic potato chips.
Read more: Lion Capital to acquire Kettle Foods as natural snack market expands, bakeryandsnacks.com, 10 Aug 2006
In February 2006 Lion Capital and Blackstone Group acquired the European Beverages Division of Cadbury Schweppes plc. The beverages division, formally known as “CSEB” and now “Orangina SAS”, was acquired for US$1.85 billion.
Lion Capital bought Weetabix for £640 million in November 2003.