Supermarket sandwich maker Greencore has agreed to buy rival Bakkavor in a £1.2billion takeover deal – sparking fears of 1,500 job losses and factory closures.
Greencore will pay £2 a share for Bakkavor to form a combined food group with annual sales of about £4billion.
But around 5 per cent of the combined workforce of 30,500, or 1,525 staff, could be cut. Trade union Unite called for an urgent meeting with bosses with national officer Bev Clarkson saying it was ‘bad news’ for consumers as prices are rising, adding ‘fewer competitors will likely lead to faster price rises’.
Greencore shareholders will own around 56 per cent of the combined group and Bakkavor 44 per cent. Shares in Greencore were up 0.3 per cent while Bakkavor rose 1.7 per cent.
Greencore supplies all major UK supermarkets and the likes of Marks & Spencer. It has its HQ in Dublin, and 16 factories and 17 distribution centres in the UK. It employs about 13,300 staff.
Bakkavor has 17,200 staff at 40 sites in the UK, US and China, and about 20 factories in the UK. It makes around 3,100 freshly prepared food products. Bakkavor had rejected two previous approaches from Greencore.
Takeover: Supermarket sandwich maker Greencore will pay £2 a share for Bakkavor to form a combined food group with annual sales of about £4bn
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