Acquisition of Big Bear Group PLC by Raisio PLC

DATE
February 2011

TRANSACTION TYPE
Corporate Acquisition

VALUE
£81 Million

SECTOR
Food & Beverage

Spayne Lindsay & Co. LLP advises Raisio plc on the acquisition of Big Bear Group plc.

Raisio plc announced on the 4th February 2011 the acquisition of Big Bear Group for an enterprise value of £82 million.

Big Bear Group was founded in 2003 to acquire traditional, well-known brands that were considered non-core by larger companies. Big Bear’s first acquisition was from Northern Foods when it acquired Fox’s Confectionery which included the Fox’s Glacier, Just Brazils, Poppets and XXX Extra Strong Mints brands. In 2006, Big Bear Group acquired Sugar Puffs and the Harvest Chewee cereal bar brands from PepsiCo. The company has 100% branded sales with nearly 70% of sales being generated by breakfast and snack products and the remaining 30% by confectionery.

Raisio plc is a Finnish company established in 1939, whose shares are listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki. It employs 1,250 people and operates in 10 countries. The Group’s main markets include Finland, Sweden, UK, the Baltic countries, Russia, Ukraine and Poland. Following the acquisition of Glisten plc in 2010, Raisio has been looking for further acquisitions for its Western European brand operations into which Big Bear Group will be integrated. The UK will now be the largest market for Raisio’s food business with €140-150m annual sales.

Spayne Lindsay is delighted to have introduced the deal to Raisio and advised them on the acquisition of Big Bear Group.