(Reuters) -UK fresh food provider Bakkavor Group said on Tuesday it will sell its China operations for a cash consideration of about 50 million pounds ($67 million), a move that comes amidst talks for a takeover by rival Greencore.
Bakkavor has about 2,300 employees in China, where it earned revenue of 105 million pounds in 2024 by supplying foodservice and retail customers with salads, sandwiches and meals from its seven manufacturing sites.
It will sell Bakkavor China Holdings to China-based Lihe Xing (Qingdao) Food Technology and expects to complete the deal in the second half of 2025.
Bakkavor, which sells products such as soups, dips, salads, desserts, pizzas and breads, had been reshaping its businesses across the UK, China and the U.S. to cope with steep costs, subdued consumer demand and reduced volumes.
In December 2024, it agreed to sell its Hong Kong business and said it would continue to review strategic options for the rest of its mainland China business.
In early April, Greencore agreed to pay $1.55 billion in cash and stock to buy Bakkavor, whose retail customers include Tesco, M&S and Waitrose.
Greencore has until May 9 to make a firm offer or walk away under UK takeover rules. ($1 = 0.7456 pounds)
(Reporting by Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Savio D’Souza)
