A sale of soy foods business Alpro could be agreed in two weeks, according to an investor in parent company Vandemoortele, the Belgian food group.
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Reports in Belgium and the UK have linked a slew of food industry giants, including US dairy group Dean Foods, Benecol owner Raisio and Unilever to Alpro, which was put up for sale earlier this year.
Officials at Vandemoortele, which wants to focus on its lipids and frozen bakery businesses, could not be reached for comment as just-food went to press,.
However, a spokesman for investment fund Gimv-XL revealed that the race to buy Alpro is in its final stages.
The spokesman declined to comment on the identity of the companies interested in Alpro but hinted that the suitors are industry players.
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By GlobalData“It’s probably more industrial than financial,” he told just-food. “It should take another couple of weeks to see who will win the battle.”
In March, the Gimv-XL fund said it would invest EUR75m (US$105.1m) in Vandemoortele to help the company invest in frozen bakery and lipids.
The Gimv-XL fund is a new vehicle for European investment company Gimv, which invests in firms in the Benelux region, France, Germany and Russia.
Raisio, Dean Foods and Unilever could not be reached for comment as just-food went to press.
