Sale of Batchelors brands has not gone beyond ‘exploratory stage’

Premier Foods said on Monday that discussions to sell its Batchelors brand portfolio have not yet gone beyond "an exploratory stage". The comments follow newspaper reports at the weekend that the Japanese inventor of instant noodles Nissin Foods was ready to swoop in with a £200 million deal.

On Saturday, The Times reported that Premier Foods' biggest shareholder Nissin Foods, is in talks with the UK food group to acquire the Batchelors brand in a deal that could see the well-known maker of Cup a Soup and tinned beans sell for as much as £200 million.

Responding to the speculation, Premier Foods confirmed that it “regularly reviews options to deliver value for all its stakeholders” and these reviews have included Nissin, but that the talks have yet to progress.

“There is no current situation where discussions have gone beyond an exploratory stage”.

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The UK Premier Foods-owned Batchelors brand is a separate entity to the Irish-owned Batchelors Ireland, manufacturers of beans and peas, which became part of Valeo Foods when Batchelors Ireland merged with Origin Foods in 2010. - PA