French vegetable processor Bonduelle is said to be preparing a takeover bid for General Mills' frozen and canned vegetable business Green Giant, in conjunction with private equity group Centerview Partners.
According to a Reuters report, citing unnamed sources, the Bonduelle and Centerview consortium will enter a takeover race against a number of other unnamed bidders.
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It was first rumoured that General Mills is preparing to sell Green Giant back in March and the US food group is said to have appointed investment bank Rothschild to explore the sale.
Bonduelle declined to comment and representatives for General Mills were not immediately available for comment.
Meanwhile, market rumours in the US suggested General Mills itself could become a buyout target. Seeking Alpha noted speculation that the group could be a potential takeover for Swiss food giant Nestle. Nestle did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
General Mills shares, however, closed down yesterday (20 July) suggesting that the market is not taking the hearsay too seriously. General Mills shares closed at US$56.83, down from an open of $56.89.
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By GlobalDataM&A advisor Stefan Kirk, of Glenboden, was also sceptical on Nestle's purported interest. "My guess is that Nestle would like to buy General Mills out of Cereal Partners Worldwide, but not acquire the whole group. General Mills has been struggling recently, and Nestle isn't the type of company that buys turnaround candidates."
Kirk said he would also be "surprised" at Bonduelle's interest in Green Giant. "I'm a little surprised if Bonduelle are serious about acquiring Green Giant, because historically they've focused mostly on their own brand and have been relatively quiet on the M&A front. However they are keen to expand in North America, and have made two acquisitions there in recent years," he told just-food.
In 2012, Bonduelle took control of the vegetable operations of Allens in the US and in 2007 the group acquired Aliments Carrière in Canada.
