Iglo Group, which owns Birds Eye as well as Findus in Italy, appointed Credit Suisse to kick-start an auction in March after receiving a number of unsolicited takeover approaches.
The company, which was previously bought out of Unilever by Permira five years ago, has since seen interest from private equity investors Blackstone and BC Partners, but The Sunday Times reports this morning that Bangkok-based CP Foods is preparing a takeover. First round bids were submitted on Friday.
In April Iglo posted a 7 percent growth in EBITDA during 2011, prompting chief executive Martin Glenn to proclaim last year as the “best year yet.” It had previously registered 8 percent profit growth during every year since 2008.
