Blackstone agrees sale of Tangerine to Valeo Foods for $127m

Private equity firm Blackstone has reportedly signed an agreement to sell Tangerine to Irish food company Valeo Foods under a deal valued at £100m ($127m).

Tangerine’s Dip Dab, Fruit Salad and Blackjack brands will be added to Valeo’s Big Bear Confectionery portfolio following the completion of the acquisition.

Big Bear Confectionery was previously acquired by Valeo from Raisio last year and already owns a number of food brands across Europe.

The latest deal is expected to allow Valeo to increase its position within the UK’s confectionery market.

Valeo is partly owned by Capvest, another private equity firm.

The acquisition will add Tangerine’s five UK confectionery production sites in Liverpool, York, Blackpool, Pontefract and Cleckheaton to Valeo’s production network.

Valeo currently has operations in 90 markets worldwide.

The Blackstone Group initially announced it had assumed ownership of UK-based, independent manufacturer of sugar confectionery and popcorn Tangerine in July 2011.

The company acquired a majority stake in Tangerine, as well as control of the company’s management, which has since re-invested significantly in the business.

At the time of the announcement, Blackstone senior managing director Lionel Assant said that the investment was intended to build a partnership with management in order to take Tangerine, along with its brands and product range, to the next level of growth.

Tangerine owns brands such as Butterkist popcorn, Barratt Sherbet Fountain and Dip Dabs, as well as Henry Goode’s soft-eating liquorice and Princess Marshmallows.

Tangerine’s popcorn brand Butterkist was divested to KP Snacks’ German owner Intersnack last year.

The acquisition is slated for completion in the coming weeks, Sky News reported.