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UK: KKR wins Unilever brands

By  |  December 17, 2017

Unilever has agreed to sell its margarine and spreads business to US private equity firm KKR for £6 billion (US$8 billion) to concentrate on faster growing products.

The deal is a result of Unilever’s review of its operations in search of non-core assets, which it initiated earlier this year after rebuffing a US$143 billion takeover approach in February from Kraft Heinz Co.

KKR won in an auction for the business and could finalize a deal as early as this month, according to unnamed sources cited by The Daily Mailx, asking not to be identified because the discussions are confidential.

In November, Unilever said it favored collapsing its dual-headed, Anglo-Dutch structure into a single entity, but delayed a decision of whether it would be based in Britain or the Netherlands, avoiding for now a choice with political dimensions amid ongoing Brexit negotiations.

KKR and Unilever did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Full Content: The Guardian and Daily Mail

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