Food Engineering logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Food Engineering logo
  • NEWS
    • Latest Headlines
    • Manufacturing News
    • People & Industry News
    • Plant Openings
    • Recalls
    • Regulatory Watch
    • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
    • New Plant Products
    • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
    • Alternative Protein
    • Automation
    • Cannabis
    • Cleaning | Sanitation
    • Fabulous Food Plants
    • Food Safety
    • Maintenance Strategies
    • OEE
    • Packaging
    • Sustainability
    • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Plant Construction Survey
    • Plant of the Year
    • Sustainable Plant of the Year
    • State of Food Manufacturing
    • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
    • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
    • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
    • Newsletter
    • Custom Content & Marketing Services
    • FE Store
    • Government Links
    • Industry Associations
    • Market Research
    • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issue
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!
Latest headlinesPeople & Industry News

Premier Foods rejects takeover bid from McCormick

By Jeremy Gerrard
March 23, 2016

The UK’s Premier Foods—known for its Mr. Kipling cakes and Bistro gravy among other brands—has rejected two unsolicited takeover bids from McCormick & Co saying the US company’s proposals undervalue its growth prospects and is not in the best interest of shareholders.

McCormick valued Premier at 60 pence per share, about 496 million pounds or roughly $704 million, according to Reuters. Shares of Premier were trading at 54 pence per share as of 4:11 p.m. GMT Wednesday, up about 70 percent from the market close Tuesday. McCormick, known for its herbs and spices, said this offer should be attractive to Premier’s employees and shareholders, and is consistent with its mission to add iconic house-hold name brand products to its portfolio and increase its presence in the grocery retail market.

“McCormick’s proposal represents an attempt to capture the upside value embedded in Premier’s business that rightfully belongs to Premier’s shareholders,” David Beever, chairman of Premier. “The proposal fails to recognize the value of Premier’s performance to date and prospects for the future, including the strategic plans we have to accelerate growth.

McCormick has until April 20 under British law to make another offer for the company or announce its intentions to discontinue pursuit.

At the same time as this announcement, Premier says it has signed a deal with Japan’s instant noodle manufacturer Nissin Foods Holdings Co Ltd. that would allow Premier to distribute Nissin’s products in the UK and Nissin to do the same with Premier’s products in overseas markets.

KEYWORDS: distribution food and beverage manufacturing food processing industry

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Jeremy Gerrard was Food Engineering's Digital/Online Editor. He is a graduate of Auburn University with a degree in journalism. His previous work experience includes years spent as a reporter with the Daily Local News out of Chester County, PA. In addition to writing feature articles for Food Engineering, Jeremy covered the Dry Processing, Field Reports and People and Industry news sections.

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • 2025 Top 100 Food and Beverage Companies

    FOOD ENGINEERING’s 2025 Top 100 Food and Beverage Companies

    While sales were largely down under dynamic economic and...
    Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
    By: Alyse Thompson-Richards
  • Bottling machine

    How Optical and X-Ray Inspection Supports Bottling Safety and Quality

    By transitioning from legacy single-technology systems to...
    Food Safety
    By: Dan McKee
  • Bread baking in oven

    The State of Food Manufacturing in 2025

    Food and beverage manufacturers are investing in...
    State of Food Manufacturing
    By: Alyse Thompson-Richards
Manage My Account
  • eMagazine
  • Newsletter
  • Online Registration
  • Manage My Preferences
  • Customer Service

More Videos

Popular Stories

The Campbell's Company logo

Campbell’s Terminates Exec Over Alleged Disparaging Comments

alternative protein products

Alternative Protein in 2025: Key Trends and Technologies

Food manufacturing data

Digital KPIs Emerge but Are Brands Finding Accurate Data?

State of Maufacturing 2025

Events

June 17, 2025

Refrigerated & Frozen Foods’ State of the Cold Chain

On Demand Kelley Rodriguez, Editor in Chief of Refrigerated & Frozen Foods, will be joined in this 60-minute webinar by industry experts to help unpack the latest research.

July 23, 2025

Decarbonizing Process Heat: What You Should Know and Next Steps

On Demand Driven by climate goals, business risk, client interest, and resilience considerations, food and beverage companies are increasingly turning their attention to decarbonizing their production processes.

View All Submit An Event

Products

Recent Advances in Ready-to-Eat Food Technology

Recent Advances in Ready-to-Eat Food Technology

See More Products

CHECK OUT OUR NEW ESSENTIAL TOPICS

Alternative ProteinAutomationCleaning/SanitationFabulous Food Plants

Food SafetyMaintenance StrategiesOEE

PackagingSustainability

Related Articles

  • Hershey rejects takeover bid from Mondelez

    See More
  • Chobani rejects bid from PepsiCo for stake in company

    See More
  • McCormick abandons plan to buy Premier Foods

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • gin 2.jpg

    Lessons from Gin: Business the Four Pillars Way

  • Optimizing Social Media from a B2B Perspective

  • milk-dairy.jpg

    Milk and Dairy Foods Nutrition, Processing and Healthy Aging

See More Products
×

Elevate your expertise in food engineering with unparalleled insights and connections.

Get the latest industry updates tailored your way.

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Food Master
    • Store
    • Want More
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • Newsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing