UK – Finsbury Food Group, one of the largest bakery groups in the UK is set to be bought by Isle of Man-based asset management company DBAY Advisors, at a £143.4m (US$177.1M) takeover bid.

The move, announced on 20 September will see the listed-on AIM, London’s junior stock market business taken private.

According to Just Food, Isle of Man-based DBAY will acquire Finsbury through its Frisbee Bidco vehicle.

Finsbury Food makes cakes and bread bakery goods, supplying a raft of big names across both the grocery retail market and the “out-of-home eating” food service sector in the UK and Europe.

After the deal was announced, shares in Finsbury Food Group soared more than 23% in the early morning.

The bread and cake maker said in a stock exchange statement: “DBAY has followed Finsbury’s story for some time, attracted by the business model and strength of the management team, and began acquiring Finsbury shares in August 2022.”

Its acquirer, Frisbee Bidco, is owned by DBAY, which has offices in Douglas and London and has held shares in Finsbury since August last year.

Commenting on the deal, Peter Baker, non-executive chairman of Finsbury, said: “Finsbury has a successful track record under the leadership of the current management team of delivering sustainable, profitable organic growth along with strategic, targeted acquisitions.

For the next phase of the Finsbury group’s development the business will need to pursue strategic, transformational M&A to achieve the scale required to be successful in an increasingly competitive and demanding marketplace, Baker noted.

“I am confident that Finsbury will thrive under DBAY’s stewardship in the private market, with access to DBAY’s investment and operational support to pursue the current strategy of scaling Finsbury’s buy-and-build M&A in the future.”

On his part, Alexander Paiusco, the Chief Executive of DBAY said that they strongly believe Finsbury would benefit from transformational M&A including international expansion and this would be better achieved in private ownership without the barrier of the current listing.

“We look forward to working with Finsbury’s management and employees to accelerate Finsbury’s strategy and unlock the long-term value in Finsbury for all stakeholders,”he added.

For all the latest grains industry news from Africa, the Middle East and the World, subscribe to our weekly NEWSLETTERS, follow us on LinkedIn and subscribe to our YouTube channel