Associated British Foods PLC
14 September 2007
Associated British Foods plc
Acquisition of a 20% stake in Jordans
For immediate release
Associated British Foods plc ('ABF'), the international food, ingredients and
retail group, has today announced that it has reached agreement with UK
breakfast cereal and cereal bar business, W Jordan & Son (Silo) Limited
('Jordans'), to acquire 20% of its share capital from the founding Jordan family.
Jordans is a successful and leading breakfast cereal and cereal bar business in
the UK. It was founded by, and remains under the control of, the Jordan family.
The Jordans brand has a strong and differentiated consumer position based on
its use of natural and Conservation Grade(R) ingredients. Its products range
from breakfast cereals to cereal bars, muesli and oat porridge. The company has
three manufacturing sites and has its head office in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire.
It had sales of £81m for the year ended February 2007 and gross assets of £40m
at 28 February 2007.
ABF already has extensive interests and expertise in cereal-based branded foods
both in the UK and internationally. It will be a strong partner to ensure the
further development of the Jordans business.
George Weston, Chief Executive of Associated British Foods, said
'This investment is an exciting development for our UK branded grocery business.
Jordans is a wonderful brand which is positioned well to benefit from the
consumer's growing desire for natural ingredients and healthy eating. I look
forward to the development of the brand's full potential.'
For further information please contact:
Associated British Foods
John Bason, Finance Director
Tel: 020 7399 6500
Citigate Dewe Rogerson:
Jonathan Clare/Chris Barrie/Hannah Seward
Tel: 020 7638 9571
Notes to Editors
1. Associated British Foods is a diversified international food,
ingredients and retail group with global sales of £6 billion and 75,000
employees. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange with a market
capitalisation of £6.3 billion. It operates in 46 countries with significant
businesses outside Europe in Southern Africa, the US, China and Australia. Its
aim is to achieve strong, sustainable leadership positions in markets that offer
potential for profitable growth. It strives to achieve this through a
combination of organic growth, the acquisition of complementary businesses and
achievement of high levels of operating efficiency. The group has established a
track record of successful value adding acquisitions including a 51% stake in
Illovo Sugar, Africa's biggest cane sugar producer with extensive agricultural
and manufacturing operations in six African countries, AB Mauri (its leading
international yeast and bakery ingredients business), Littlewoods stores for
Primark and the grocery brands Mazola, Ovaltine and Patak's.
2. The Jordans breakfast cereal business was started by Bill and David
Jordan in 1971 and its philosophy is to provide consumers with healthy, natural
foods. It has a deep commitment to high quality natural ingredients,
specifically Conservation Grade(R) raw materials, underpinned by a strict policy
of using ingredients with no artificial colourings, flavourings or
preservatives. Under the Jordans brand name, the business has been very
successful and now has a leading position in breakfast cereals and cereal bars
in the UK and exports its products to over 17 countries around the world. The
product range spans the crunch, crisp, muesli and hot eating segments of the
market. The business is based in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire where it has 350
employees.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
*A Private Investor is a recipient of the information who meets all of the conditions set out below, the recipient:
Obtains access to the information in a personal capacity;
Is not required to be regulated or supervised by a body concerned with the regulation or supervision of investment or financial services;
Is not currently registered or qualified as a professional securities trader or investment adviser with any national or state exchange, regulatory authority, professional association or recognised professional body;
Does not currently act in any capacity as an investment adviser, whether or not they have at some time been qualified to do so;
Uses the information solely in relation to the management of their personal funds and not as a trader to the public or for the investment of corporate funds;
Does not distribute, republish or otherwise provide any information or derived works to any third party in any manner or use or process information or derived works for any commercial purposes.
Please note, this site uses cookies. Some of the cookies are essential for parts of the site to operate and have already been set. You may delete and block all cookies from this site, but if you do, parts of the site may not work. To find out more about the cookies used on Investegate and how you can manage them, see our Privacy and Cookie Policy
To continue using Investegate, please confirm that you are a private investor as well as agreeing to our Privacy and Cookie Policy & Terms.