German snack company Intersnack is finalizing an agreement to acquire UK-based United Biscuits' snacks business, KP Snacks, for more than £400m.
Intersnack and KP Snacks are likely to announce the agreement this week, reported Bloomberg citing sources with knowledge of the matter.
United Biscuits was bought by Blackstone and PAI for £1.6bn in 2006. In July 2010, they attempted to sell the whole company to Bright Foods; however, the deal failed to materialize.
In August 2012, Blackstone and PAI completed the separation of United Biscuits' snacks business from the rest of its operations, to facilitate the sale.
Following this, the companies hired Swiss financial services company Credit Suisse and initiated the auction for KP Snacks. Initial bidders for the snacks business included private equity firms such as Lion Capital, Clayton Dubilier & Rice, Permira Advisers, and Warburg Pincus.
KP Snacks includes several brands such as McCoy's potato chips, Hula Hoops, Mini Cheddars and KP Nuts and has four factories in the UK, with a workforce of around 1,500.
Intersnack, which is privately-owned, produces Vico chips and Penn State pretzels, and has a workforce of 6000.