31st Jul 2007 11:03
Greencore Group PLC31 July 2007 Greencore disposes of its interest in Odlum Group Dublin and London, Tuesday 31st July 2007: Greencore Group plc ("Greencore" or the "Group"), a leading European conveniencefoods company, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell its50 per cent shareholding in Odlum Group ("Odlums"), the Irish flour and oatmiller, to Origin Enterprises plc ("Origin"). The deal is subject to Competition Authority approval. Upon completion of thesale Greencore will receive a cash payment of €35 million from Origin. Inaddition, Origin will assume the portion of outstanding Odlums' net debt that iscurrently attributable to Greencore (approximately €10 million). Whencompleted, the sale will generate an exceptional profit of approximately €23million for the Group. Commenting on the sale David Dilger, chief executive of Greencore said: "We aredelighted that Origin has agreed to buy our stake in Odlums. The sale of Odlumsto Origin comes at a time when Odlums is embarking on a significant capitalprogramme of mill modernisation. The price achieved equates to an excellentEBITDA multiple for a business of this nature and represents an exceptionalresult for our shareholders. The disposal will enable Greencore to furtherconcentrate on its development as a leading international convenience foodsgroup." Editor's Notes 1. Greencore Group plc is a leading European manufacturer and supplier ofconvenience foods. Greencore employs over 9,000 people and operates out of 16state-of-the-art facilities in the UK. The Group's customers include most ofthe major UK retailing groups, a number of retailing groups in ContinentalEurope and manufacturing and food service customers across Europe. Inaddition, Greencore is the leading malt supplier in Ireland, the UK and Belgiumand has extensive related property assets in Ireland and the UK. 2. Odlums is Ireland's leading miller, operating with three flour mills (inDublin, Cork and Portarlington, Co. Laois) and a specialist oatmeal mill (inSallins, Co. Kildare). For further information, please contact: Greencore Patrick Coveney Chief Financial Officer Tel: +353 1 605 1018 Eoin Tonge Capital Markets Director Tel: +353 1 605 1036 Drury Communications Ann-Marie Curran Tel: +353 (0)1 260 5000 Powerscourt Rory Godson/ Elizabeth Rous Tel: +44 (0)20 7250 1446 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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