Johannesburg - Associated British Foods increased its offer to buy Illovo Sugar, valuing the African producer at R11.5 billion ($759 million) and expanding the UK company’s sugar business.
AB Foods, which already owns 51 percent of Mount Edgecombe, South Africa-based Illovo, offered R25 a share for the portion it doesn’t already own, according to a Friday statement.
Read: Illovo sees dip in sugar output
The London-based owner of Kingsmill bread and discount clothing retailer Primark offered R20 a share in February. AB Foods would pay R5.6 billion for the shares, the companies said in a separate statement.
A buyout of Illovo would bolster AB Foods’ portfolio of sugar businesses, which include operations in the UK, Spain and China. Over the past two years, the company’s profits from the commodity have dwindled as prices fell.
“Africa is a growth market for sugar, driven by increasing populations and rising incomes,” the companies said. “Illovo is well-positioned to capitalise on this growth. Full ownership will accelerate Illovo’s progress in these areas.”
BLOOMBERG