Reckitt Benckiser receives offers for food business from Unilever, Hormel - report
Reckitt Benckiser [LON:RB], a UK-based consumer products company, has received offers for its foods division from Anglo-Dutch rival Unilever [LON:ULVR] [AMS:UNA] and Minnesota-based Hormel Foods [NYSE:HRL], The Sunday Times reported.
The newspaper did not cite a source for the information.
Binding bids for Reckitt’s food division are expected within weeks, the item added. Other companies expected to submit final-round offers include New Jersey-based Pinnacle Foods [NYSE:PF] and Maryland-based McCormick & Co [NYSE:MKC], the report said. However, Hormel and Unilever will probably have the strongest offers, the article added.
The report went on to cite unspecified sources who said the strong competition for Reckitt's food business will probably drive the sale price above GBP 2.2bn (EUR 2.51bn).
As previously reported, Reckitt has hired investment bankers from Morgan Stanley to advise on the auction.
City analysts cited by the report have predicted that Reckitt could sell its homecare business after selling its foods division.