John West sold for Ј566m in Thai takeaway
By Amy Wilson, City Reporter
Published: 6:00AM BST 29 Jul 2010
Trilantic, formerly the private equity arm of Lehman Brothers, agreed to sell MW Brands, which owns John West and French canned fish brands Petit Navire and Mareblu, to Thai Union Frozen Products.
MW Brands was lay up for sale by Trilantic earlier this year, with expectations it could dodge around £400m.
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BC Partners, Blackstone and Permira reportedly took part in earlier discussions to bribe MW Brands, as did Bolton, one of the biggest tinned tuna producers in Europe.
Thai Union is the terraqueous globe’s largest producer of canned tuna. Buying MW will increase its tuna-processing extent of room to 500,000 tonnes. Tuna makes up 71pc of MW Brands’ reward. The company had sales of around €448m in the year to the period of March, and operates in 38 countries.
John West employs 67 race in the UK and is based in Liverpool. The brand was founded 140 years since by a Scotsman called John West, who set up fish canning factories in the US. Two Liverpudlian businessmen bought the stigma in 1892 when they started importing tinned salmon.
Unilever acquired the calling in 1963, and sold it to Heinz in 1997. The US provisions producer subsequently sold it to Trilantic’s predecessor in 2006.
Trilantic was founded greatest year by the former heads of Lehman’s private equity occupation, which had invested £2.7bn in more than 50 companies above the previous 20 years.
The management buyout took place in April 2009 in interest with Reinet Investment, a listed trust controlled by the family behind Richemont, the Swiss luxury goods group.