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Finsbury Food Group has agreed to be acquired by Frisbee Bidco for £143.4 million. The acquisition is set for a vote by the Finsbury shareholders. The Finsbury board has unanimously decided to recommend that shareholders vote in favour of the deal. Frisbee Bidco – which was formed for the purpose of the acquisition – is owned by funds managed by DBay Advisors, an asset management firm based in the Isle of Man, UK. Finsbury has headquarters in Cardiff, UK, and operates across the UK and Europe, manufacturing a range of baked goods, including cakes and bread, for the retail and foodservice markets. Peter Baker, non-executive chairman of Finsbury, said: “For the next phase of the Finsbury Group’s development, the business will need to pursue strategic, transformational M&A to achieve the scale required to be successful in an increasingly competitive and demanding marketplace. I am confident that Finsbury will thrive under DBay's stewardship in the private market, with access to DBay's investment and operational support to pursue the current strategy of scaling Finsbury’s buy-and-build M&A in the future.” He continued: “The Finsbury Board unanimously intends to recommend that Finsbury Shareholders also vote in favour of the Acquisition.” Alexander Paiusco, chief executive of DBay, commented: “We are pleased to have reached agreement with the Finsbury Board and that the acquisition has received a unanimous recommendation...We have been supportive shareholders of the business for over a year and have been impressed with the management team during our ownership, but we strongly believe Finsbury would benefit from transformational M&A, including international expansion, and this would be better achieved in private ownership without the barrier of the current listing.” The acquisition is expected to close in Q4 2023, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions.