Greencore seeks bid partner
GREENCORE has leapt back into the Northern Foods fight, after meeting with the Northern board to warn them of a further bid backed by private equity, people familiar with the situation said yesterday.
Greencore has kept the identity of its potential private equity partner close to its chest, refusing to tell even the Northern board its name, sources told City A.M.
Industry insiders had written off a further bid from Greencore, following tycoon Ranjit Boparan’s £342m all-cash offer for Northern last month.
Greencore appointed former Cadbury executive Andy Williams as its finance director this week, fuelling speculation that it was ready to walk away as its earlier merger plans had placed Northern’s Simon Herrick in the chief financial officer job.
“[Greencore]is trying to find a creative way to consummate a deal,” another source said yesterday.