1st Nov 2005 07:01
Premier Foods plc01 November 2005 Cauldron Foods joins Premier Foods' Healthy Eating Portfolio for £27.0m Premier Foods plc ("Premier") announces that it has completed the acquisition ofCauldron Foods Ltd ("Cauldron"), a leading manufacturer of branded, chilledmeat free products, from Rayner & Co (Investments) Limited for £27.0m. Theconsideration was satisfied through a cash payment. Cauldron is one of the leading brands in the chilled meat free and organic foodcategory and was one of the first manufacturers of tofu in the UK. Cauldron'sproducts include meal-centres (sausages, burgers, grills and bakes); snacks(pates and ethnic snacks such as falafel); and, tofu (as a base ingredient).Approximately 92% of sales are branded under the Cauldron brand with theremainder own label. In the year to 31 December 2004, Cauldron sales were£14.7m and normalised EBITDA for 2004 was £2.7m. The gross assets of CauldronFoods Limited at 31 December 2004 were £9.6m and profit before tax for the yearto 31 December 2004 was £1.3m. The Cauldron brand will sit along side and be highly complementary to Premier'sexisting healthy eating brand, Quorn. Under Premier's ownership, Cauldron willbenefit from greater investment and access to Premier's infrastructure. Cauldron operates from a manufacturing site at Portishead, near Bristol, whichemploys approximately 215 people. Robert Schofield, Chief Executive of Premier Foods, said: "Cauldron's strong position in tofu and vegetable based products will furtherenhance our position in the high-growth healthy eating market and will be highlycomplementary to our Quorn brand. "Cauldron fulfils all our acquisition criteria. It enhances our branded mix, itis UK focused and meets all our financial hurdles." For further information, please contact: Premier Foods plc Tel: 01727 815 850 Paul Thomas, Finance Director Robert Lawson, Director of Mergers & Acquisitions and Investor Relations Gwyn Tyley, Investor Relations Manager Citigate Dewe Rogerson Tel: 020 7638 9571 Sara Batchelor, Anthony Kennaway Notes to Editors 1. Cauldron Cauldron was founded in Bristol in 1981. In 1987, the business was acquired byRayner & Company, which itself was subsequently acquired by the Swiss foodgroup, Hero. In 1997, the management of Rayner & Company undertook a management buy-out,renaming their company Rayner Foods Group. In December 2000, Rayner Foods Groupwas acquired by way of a management buy-in backed by Kleinwort Capital andAlpinvest Partners. From inception, Cauldron focused on responding to increasing consumer demand formeat-free products. Initially, products were supplied to a small number ofhealth food stores in the south-west of England. By the mid 1980's Cauldron hadsucceeded in establishing distribution of its product range to the leadingmultiple retailers in the UK. In 1993, this success led to the opening of a newmanufacturing facility at Portishead, near Bristol. Cauldron operates in a number of distinct chilled segments. Their contributionto 2004 sales is shown below: • Meal centres (sausages, burgers & grills, bakes) 51% • Snacks (pates, ethnic snacks) 22% • Tofu ingredients (organic, standard) 27% 2. Tofu Tofu is made from soya beans in a natural process, very similar to cheesemaking. The soya bean (Glycine max), is part of the pea family and is a legume -a plant that can take in nitrogen and convert it into protein. All eightessential amino acids are present in tofu making it equal in protein quality toanimal proteins, so it is an excellent source of protein to incorporate intoyour diet if you are reducing your meat intake, or are a vegetarian. Tofu has excellent health credentials as it is low in saturated fats, ischolesterol-free, low in carbohydrates, low in sodium and rich in linoleic acidand lecithin as well as other vitamins, particularly B vitamins and minerals,including iron. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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