The owner of meat-free food brand Quorn will seek a sale price of £500m when it puts the company up for auction this month, media reports have said.
Exponent Private Equity will focus its initial efforts on other financial investors, as it looks to capitalise on the strongest year of sales growth in Quorn’s history. The brand’s position has been bolstered in recent years by an increasing foothold in the American market, a new retail listing with Wal-Mart, and falling confidence in meat products following the horsemeat scandal of 2013.
According to Sky News’, potential buyers include private equity groups BC Partners, Cinven and KKR – as well as food groups such as WhiteWave, Nomad and McCain.
In March, FoodBev reported that Quorn has announced a £40m investment in expanding into new international markets. The company was set to spend the money on research and development, before launching into at least one new country before the end of the year.
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