UNQUOTE

UK - Blackstone only bidder left in final stages of auction for United Biscuits

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Blackstone is the only contender left in the ТЃ1.7bn auction to acquire United Biscuits (UB), the foods company owned by Cinven, PAI and MidOcean Partners, after Premier Foods was forced to pull out as it could not raise the cash. The blow to the Premier Foods bid came as Lion Capital withdrew from the Premier Foods/NPM Capital consortium.

UB was delisted in 2000 by Kraft Foods, alongside Cinven, PAI and MidOcean for £1.26bn. Earlier this year Kraft took the Spanish and Portuguese operations for £575m, leaving the private equity backers to auction off UB's Northern European divisions. If UB decides not to allow Blackstone to acquire it, it may be the subject of an IPO. After losing out to Permira on the recent battle for Birds Eye Frozen Foods, Blackstone is thought to be keen for this deal to go ahead.
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