The London of Primark’s parent applied the final touch to a historic transaction on Wednesday which will unite the brands of bread Hovis and Kingsmill under the common property.
Sky News understands that an agreement for Associated British Foods (ABF) to acquire Hovis from the endless capital company is likely to be announced by the end of the week.
The calendar remains delay, according to banking sources, warned on Wednesday.
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The agreement, which will see ABF paying approximately 75 million pounds sterling to buy 135 -year -old Hovis, is likely to trigger a long examination by competition regulators, since it will bring together the second and third largest suppliers of wrapped bread with the main British supermarkets.
ABF has Kingsmill’s immediate parent, Allied Bakeries, who has had trouble in recent years in the middle of persistent prices inflation, the evolution of consumer preferences and competition from the largest rival Warburtons as well as new entrants on the market.
Confirmation of the link will come Three months after Sky News revealed that abf and endless – HOVIS owner since 2020 – were under discussion.
Industry sources have estimated that a combined group could benefit from up to 50 million pounds of a merger annual savings.
Allied Bakeries was founded in 1935 by Willard Garfield Weston, who is part of the family who continues to control ABF, while Hovis traces his story even more, having been created in 1890 when Herbert Grime won a prize of £ 25 for finding the name Hovis, which was derived from the Latin “ homis screw ‘- meaning’ man.
The overall British bakery market is estimated at around 5 billion pounds of annual sales, the equivalent of 11 million breads sold each day.
The prospects for the merger of the Allied bakeries, which also has the sunniest and most property of bread marks, and the Hovis which take place will be the opinion of competition and market authority (CMA) at a time when economic regulators are undergoing intense government pressure to support growth.
Warburtons, the family business which is the largest bakery group in Great Britain, is estimated at 34% of the brand-wrapped bread sector, with Hovis out of 24% and allied with 17%.
A merger of Hovis and Kingsmill would give the combined group most of this market segment, although a source said that the overall turnover of Warburtons would remain higher due to the extent of its range of products.
Responding to Sky News report in May of talks, ABF said: “Allied bakeries continue to face a very difficult market.
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“We assess strategic options for allied bakeries in this context and we remain determined to increase the value of long -term shareholders.”
Before his property by Endless, Hovis belonged to Mr. Kipling-Maker First Foods and to the Gore family.
At the time of the most recent takeover, the Hovis, based in Wycombe, employed around 2,700 people and operated eight bakery sites, as well as its own flour mill.
The current director general of Hovis, Jon Jenkins, is a former boss of the version and the cooking of the allies.
ABF refused to comment, while neither purposes nor Hovis could be joined to comment.