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Premier Foods Stage: LBOs and Special Situations Date of Investment: March 2009 Web Site : http://www.premierfoods.co.uk
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Premier Foods plc is the UK’s largest food producer and manufactures some of Britain’s most popular food brands including Hovis bread, Mr Kipling cakes, Loyd Grossman sauces and Bisto gravy. The company, which is headquartered in St Albans, England, also manufactures products for the food service industry, as well as supplying ingredients to food producers and own-label products to the UK's major food retailers. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
In March 2009, Warburg Pincus acquired a 15.71% stake in Premier Foods along with the right to nominate one member to the board of directors of the food company. In February 2010, Warburg Pincus raised its stake to 15.8% through open market purchases.
Since the investment by Warburg Pincus, the company has reduced net debt by c.£400m, largely through disposals, and made a significant number of changes to the management team. 9 out of the top 11 managers have changed since 2009 and the Deputy Chairman of the company is Warburg Pincus’ board appointee Charles Miller-Smith (ex CEO of ICI and ex CFO of Unilever), who also serves as a senior advisor to Warburg Pincus in Europe. Michael Clarke, former President of Kraft Foods Europe, joined Premier as CEO in August 2011 and plans to drive Premier forward by focussing on 8 “power” brands, improving sales and marketing execution, and reducing the cost structure.
