UAE’s National Food Products said to scrap stake-sale plan

UAE’s National Food Products Company (NFPC) has abandoned plans to sell a majority stake after bids in the final round failed to meet the owners’ valuation, news agencies reported citing sources familiar with the matter.

Abu Dhabi-based NFPC – which owns brands like Milco, Lacnor, and Oasis bottled water – was looking to raise up to $1.5 billion from the sale of a 51 percent stake, it was reported.

However, none of the final round bids matched the expectations of the food and dairy manufacturer’s board, and the sale was pulled, sources told Reuters.

Bidders also questioned the value and cost of an expansion project NFPC was planning to undertake, which would see it shift most of its production to a new facility in the Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (KIZAD), it was reported.

The company, therefore, has decided to carry out the expansion on its own, and may revive the sale process in 2018, a source told Bloomberg.

Firms said to have expressed interest in acquiring the NFPC stake include US private equity company KKR in partnership with Dubai-based Fajr Capital, as well as Saudi dairy giant Almarai.

However, the KKR and Fajr Capital team ended up not issuing a final bid, sources told Reuters, adding that Almarai had been keen to proceed with the transaction, but under a set of conditions.