LONDON -- Chinese food and beverage firm Wahaha is in the lead
to buy United Biscuits' KP Snacks business for 520 million pounds
($816 million), The Sunday Telegraph reports.
KP Snacks, which owns household brands such as McCoy's, Hula
Hoops, KP Nuts and Skips, is being put up for sale by its
private-equity owners, Blackstone Group L.P. (BX) Pand PAI, the
report said. The pair, being advised by Credit Suisse, have sent a
four-page sales "teaser" to half a dozen potential buyers,
including Wahaha.
The teaser was also sent to cereal maker Kellogg Co. (K), which
recently paid $2.7 billion for crisp company Pringles; Kraft Foods
Inc. (KFT), where KP's new chief executive formerly worked; and a
series of private-equity firms, including Permira.
The final information memorandum will be sent out on Sept 3, the
report said.
A spokesman for United Biscuits couldn't be immediately reached
for comment by Dow Jones Newswires.
Newspaper Web site: http://www.telegraph.co.uk
-London Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9320
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