PAI Partners sells Yoplait stake to General Mills

The French private equity firm should reap a little over €800m for its stake, according to media reports. It acquired the stake in 2001, in a deal valued in the €250-500m range. Morgan Stanley and Société Générale were hired last Spetember to run the sale process.

As the race narrowed to six bidders earlier this month, Chinese group Bright Food was said to have made the largest offer, which would have valued Yoplait at €1.7bn. General Mills was apparently able to capitalise on its ties with the French yoghurt maker - it has licensed the Yoplait brand since 1977, and is Yoplait's largest licensee - to get the edge, despite Bright Food's more generous offer.

PAI - which recently sold car repair business Kwik-Fit to Japanese corporation Itochu for £637m - is also taking bids for French mortgage insurance services company CEP. Rival buyout houses Apax Partners and Bridgepoint Capital are said to be making a joint bid for the business, which could fetch in excess of €800m.

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