Booker sells its fish processing division

27 October 1998

Booker sells its fish processing division

TROUBLED food group Booker has sold its fish processing business to a management team backed by the private equity specialist Legal & General Ventures.

The purchase price of £47.5 million takes the total amount raised from Booker disposals to £160m in the past four months.

The proceeds will be used to reduce Bookers borrowings which were £460m at the end of June. Debts are still believed to be above £300m.

The company said plans to sell its Arbor Acres poultry breeding business were on “on hold”.

• Booker to sell seed unit for £29m, FWi, 09 October, 1998
• Booker to sell peripheral businesses, FWi, 03 June, 1998
• CWS Agriculture to buy Broadoak, FWi, 14 May, 1998
• Booker wants out of agri-business, FWi, 18 March, 1998
• The Times 27/10/98 page 31, page 32 (Tempus)
  
• Financial Times 27/10/98 page 26
  
• The Guardian 27/10/98 page 25
  
• The Daily Telegraph 27/10/98 page 32
  
• The Herald 27/10/98 page 23