Northern Foods - britische Nahrungsmittelaktie - 500 Beiträge pro Seite

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mit derzeit >6% Dividendenrendite

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und plant mit Greencore zu Essent Foods zu mergen.

[raul411]

Cool...guck mal ins Forum Dividenden, da habe ich auch schon mit jemand darüber geschrieben...sieht wirklich gut aus..ich halte das Ding seit 2 Wochen und bin total begeistert. Ich hoffe die Divirendite wird auch nach der Fusion bestehen bleiben...

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Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 40.667.317 von raul411 am 07.12.10 21:05:26

Da habe ich den Tip her.

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jetzt über 7%; habe mir mal ein paar zugelegt

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22 December 2010 Last updated at 14:01 GMT


Northern Foods' shares have risen 7.4% after it confirmed that Harry Ramsden owner Ranjit Boparan had asked to see its books, raising speculation that he is planning a £300m takeover bid.

Mr Boparan's company, Boparan Holdings, said there was "no certainty" at this stage that it would make a formal bid for Northern.

If any bid from Mr Boparan is made, it may end Northern's plans to merge with Irish firm Greencore.

That deal was announced last month.

Since that time, Mr Boparan has increased his shareholding in Northern Foods from less than 3% to 6.6%.

Northern Foods and Greencore plan to create a new firm called Essenta, with both sets of shareholders due to vote on the proposed deal on 31 January.

In a statement, Northern Foods reiterated its support for the merger, saying it offered "substantial benefits for its shareholders" and recommending that shareholders vote in favour of the deal next month.

Boparan Holdings also owns the FishWorks restaurant chain, as well as chicken processor Two Sisters Food Group, which is one of Tesco's largest poultry suppliers.

Greencore is the UK's biggest sandwich maker.

Northern Foods owns Goodfella's Pizza and Fox's biscuits, and is the UK's largest maker of Christmas puddings.

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13 January 2011

Northern Foods plc Interim Management Statement

`A good Christmas trading performance'

Northern Foods plc ("Northern Foods") today issues an interim management
statement for the 13 weeks ending 1 January 2011 ("third quarter").

Overview

* Q3 Group like for like sales* increased by 2.3%, reflecting a good trading
performance over the Christmas period, despite extreme weather conditions:

+ A further strong performance in Chilled (LFL sales up 9.7%), which
comprises approximately 50% of the Group's revenue, driven by a good
performance in our Ready Meals heartland

+ Good performance in Bakery (LFL sales up 5.0%) driven by Biscuits and a
good performance in Christmas puddings

+ Weak performance in Frozen (LFL sales down 17.2%) as we rebuild the
Goodfella's pizza brand

* New Branded and Chilled divisional structure, to streamline and improve
performance of the Group, now in place

* Investment programme in automated production technology at Fox's Biscuits
on track

* Strong financial position with net debt similar to the 30 September 2010
level

* Recommended merger of equals with Greencore announced on 17 November 2010

* Agreed £15m annual pension deficit contribution, conditional on merger with
Greencore completing

Performance

Overall, Northern Foods continues to trade in line with market expectations,
following a good trading performance over the Christmas period.

* Chilled delivered a strong trading performance, with like for like sales*
increasing by 9.7% in Q3, driven by a good performance in Ready Meals
during the main autumn and early winter sales period. Chilled convenience
food markets continue to experience good growth. Our chilled soups and
sauces made in our Grimsby site continue to prove popular, with volumes
improving. In Sandwiches & Salads, festive sandwiches sold well again this
year.

* Frozen performance remains weak as we work on rebuilding the Goodfella's
pizza business. The Branded management team, formed from the successful
leadership team of Fox's Biscuits, is now in place to start building stronger
brand and commercial capabilities for Frozen. Like for like sales* in Q3 were
down 17.2%, similar to our Q2 performance (down 17.4%), reflecting the
continued challenging trading conditions in UK frozen pizza and lower volumes
than anticipated in Pies.

* In Bakery, we benefited from good seasonal demand during the key Christmas
trading period. Like for like sales* grew by 5.0% in Q3 and margins
remained healthy. Our investment in automated production technology at
Fox's Biscuits continued to plan, with full implementation expected by the
end of the financial year. In Puddings, we saw a good performance across
our Christmas product range, with exceptional demand for the Heston
Blumenthal `Hidden Orange Christmas Pudding'. Our Matthew Walker brand also
extended its range of Christmas puddings, which were well received by
consumers.

Financial position

Our financial position remains strong. The Group retains significant long term
debt facilities and remains well within all banking covenants. Our recent £250m
Revolving Credit Facility (RCF) sits alongside our long term USPP facilities
totalling £208m. Approximately 80% of the Group's borrowings are at fixed
rates, maturing between 2012 and 2020. Net debt remained at a similar level to
the half year, despite the additional capital investment at Fox's Biscuits and
the pension ETV exercise during the year. We continue to proactively manage our
pension liabilities.

Outlook

Simon Herrick, Acting Chief Executive of Northern Foods, said: "Overall,
Northern Foods has continued to trade in line with market expectations, despite
tough market and weather conditions. The commitment, resolve and initiative of
our employees, even when faced with extreme weather conditions, helped us to
deliver a good Christmas trading performance, whilst implementing major
organisational change and the Greencore merger discussions.

"We have again shown our ability to deliver innovative and best in class
products to our customers and consumers, particularly in Chilled with our
festive sandwiches, in Fox's Biscuits and in Matthew Walker, all of which
featured heavily in our Christmas trading.

"We remain well positioned for the uncertain and competitive market conditions
which we expect during 2011, underpinned by our strong financial position and
the benefits being realised from our new organisation structure."

Proposed merger with Greencore

The boards of Greencore Group plc ("Greencore") and Northern Foods plc continue
to believe that the recommended Merger, announced on 17 November 2010, is a
compelling opportunity for both companies, which offers substantial benefits
for shareholders, customers and employees.

The Board believes that the Merger will create a leading player in the fast
growing convenience foods sector:

* A scale business with a strong platform for growth

* The potential to realise significant net cost synergies of £40m

* Complementary blue chip customer base with a diverse product portfolio

* Strong capital market structure with long term debt facilities in place

* Agreement with pension trustees for £15m annual contribution, entirely
conditional on the Merger completing

Shareholder meetings to vote for the recommended merger of Northern Foods and
Greencore are to be held on 31 January 2011. Subject to shareholder, regulatory
and court approval, the proposed merger is expected to complete at the end of
March or early April.

Subsequent to the Merger announcement, Northern received a letter from Boparan
Holdings Limited ("Boparan"), requesting access to certain information pursuant
to Rule 20.2 of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers. To date, we have been
cooperating and providing information, but no offer proposal has been made, nor
is there is any certainty that an offer will be made or of the terms of any
such offer.


* Like for like sales is underlying revenue which excludes the impact of
currency rate changes, product categories no longer manufactured, acquisitions
and discontinued operations and the 53rd week


Analyst and investor conference call

A conference call for analysts and investors takes place at 0830, Thursday 13
January. To register, contact [e-mail] or 0113 390 0133


Enquiries: Northern Foods [phone]

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Boparan poised to swoop on Northern Foods
Poultry entrepreneur looks likely to trump Northern's merger with Greencore as Takeover Panel extends its deadline


Tom Bawden
guardian.co.uk, Friday 21 January 2011 18.36

Northern Foods owns the Goodfella's pizza brand. Photograph: Lorna Roach for the Guardian
Ranjit Singh Boparan, the chicken entrepreneur who supplies processed poultry and ready meals to supermarkets, looks poised tonight to make an all-cash bid for Northern Foods, owner of Goodfella's pizzas and Fox's biscuits.

Speculation has been mounting that Boparan's company, West Midlands-based 2 Sisters, would end a month of uncertainty and make an offer for Northern Foods after the Takeover Panel took the highly unusual step of granting an extension to its "put up or shut up" deadline, which expired without comment at 5pm today.

Under the terms of the order, Boparan would have been required to make a formal bid for the company by that deadline or walk away for at least six months. The Takeover Panel's last-minute two-hour extension of the deadline, at 4.55pm today, suggested that an offer would emerge, City experts said tonight, while cautioning that Boparan could yet decide to walk away.

Although the price Boparan might offer remained uncertain, analysts said a successful bid would need to be priced at a minimum of 60p to 65p per share, valuing Northern Foods at between £281m and £304m.

Boparan's quest to table a formal offer was held up by discussions with Northern Foods' pension trustees over a key sticking point – its pension liabilities. After three days spent hammering out a deal on pensions, Boparan was thought to be very close to reaching an agreement with the trustees as the Takeover Panel's first deadline passed.

As an independent company, Northern Foods, whose main business is in supplying ready meals to supermarkets such as Marks & Spencer, is facing an annual pensions shortfall of about £25m a year.

Northern had agreed a "merger of equals" with Ireland's Greencore in November, in a yet-to-be-completed deal that would have created an industry leader in chilled foods and sandwiches with total sales of £1.7bn. That deal would have enabled the combined group to cut an estimated £40m from costs, leaving a reduced annual pension shortfall of about £15m, which Greencore had agreed to plug with a yearly cash injection.

The bulk of Boparan's private 2 Sisters business is supplying products to supermarkets. Its main customers are Tesco, Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer. It also supplies Lidl, Aldi, Morrison and Budgens, as well as Kentucky Fried Chicken, and owns the Buxted poultry brand. Boparan bought the Harry Ramsden's fish-and-chip chain a year ago and has built up a 6.6% stake in Northern Foods.

Shares in Northern Foods rose by 2.5p, or 4.1%, to close at 63p ahead of the Takeover Panel's deadline.

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By Matt Scuffham

LONDON, Jan 21 (Reuters) - British food manufacturer Northern Foods Plc has agreed to be taken over by businessman Ranjit Boparan in a deal valuing the business at 342 million pounds ($544 million), the company said on Friday.

The maker of Goodfella's Pizza and Fox's biscuits is recommending that shareholders back a bid of 73 pence per share by Boparan and said it had withdrawn its support for a takeover by Irish food manufacturer Greencore Group Plc.

'This attractive cash offer provides shareholders with an immediate premium to the value of Northern Foods within the proposed merger with Greencore,' Northern Foods chairman Anthony Hobson said in a statement.

'The bid from Boparan is a compelling opportunity for our shareholders to realise a cash exit and as such the board of Northern Foods will be unanimously recommending that Northern Foods shareholders accept Boparan's offer,' he added.

The announcement confirmed a report from Reuters earlier on Friday that Boparan, a chicken entrepreneur who also owns the Harry Ramsden fish and chip shop chain, was about to make an offer at a significant premium to the company's closing share price on Friday and the offer by Greencore.

The combined group will have annual sales of 2 billion pounds, the two parties said in a statement. It will look to build its relationships with major food retailers, they added.

As well as its branded products, Northern Foods supplies own label food to major British retailers, including Marks&Spencer Group Plc and Tesco Plc.

'We look forward to working with the experienced Northern Foods team and combining our skills in product innovation and customer partnerships to create a larger business with enhanced prospects,' Boparan said in a statement.

The shares of Northern Foods, maker of Goodfella's pizzas and Fox's biscuits, closed on Friday at 63 pence, up 4 percent, valuing the business at just under 300 million pounds.

Boparan's offer has been made at a premium of 52 percent to the value of Greencore's all-share bid, which offered Northern Foods shareholders 0.4479 Greencore share for each Northern Foods share they owned and was worth 48.2 pence per share at current share prices.

It also represented a 61 percent premium to the value of Northern Foods' share before it announced the deal with Greencore on Nov. 17 last year.

Analysts had said Boparan would need to offer a significant premium to secure the support of Northern Food's board, reflecting the fact the alternative of a highly complementary merger with Aunt Bessie's maker Greencore had the potential for significant cost savings and growth opportunities.

Boparan said in a statement he had struck an agreement with Northern Foods pension trustees over funding for the pension scheme, which has a 142 million pounds deficit, conditional upon the takeover going through. No financial details were given.

The pension deficit had been seen as a major obstacle to a Boparan takeover.

Earlier on Friday, Reuters reported a deal had been struck between Boparan and the trustees which would see Boparan commit to putting more than the 15 million pounds a year into the funds proposed by Northern Foods if its takeover by Greencore went through.

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squeeze-out inzwischen gelaufen; over and out