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The information below comes from the UK Activity Report.
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United Biscuits United Biscuits, the biscuits and snacks manufacturer with 7,500 staff at sites in Liverpool, Leicester, Rotherham, Ashby, Carlisle and Manchester, is to be acquired by a consortium of private equity firms PAI and Blackstone for £1.6bn. 26-Oct-2006 United Biscuits, the biscuits and snacks manufacturer, has put itself up for sale with an estimated valuation of at least £2.3bn. 21-Jun-2006 United Biscuits is considering plans to return to the stock market next year, with a £2bn flotation. 15-Aug-2005 United Biscuits is to acquire the UK biscuit operations of Danone for about £240m, including factories in Liverpool and Leicester. 26-Jul-2004 United Biscuits is investing £5m at its biscuit factory in Carlisle with the creation of 90 jobs, in order to transfer production of Ginger Nuts from Ashby-de-la-Zouch. 28-Jun-2004 United Biscuits is planning a £10m expansion at its biscuit factory in Harlesden, London, with the creation of 200 jobs. 15-Oct-2003 United Biscuits is to create more than 200 jobs at four McVitie's biscuit factories in London, Manchester, Carlisle and Glasgow. 14-Jul-2003 United Biscuits is to shed up to 40 management and support jobs at its KP snacks factory in Billingham. 21-May-2003 United Biscuits is to close its biscuit factory in Ashby de la Zouch next year with the loss of 900 jobs, although 500 jobs will be created with the transfer of production to its 13 other sites. 05-Feb-2003 United Biscuits is to shed about 36 of the 750 jobs at its McVitie's biscuit factory in Stockport, having decided to withdraw four products from the site. 17-Jun-2002 United Biscuits is to expand production at its KP snacks factory in Billingham with the creation of 100 jobs, due to the success of the new Shoks potato hoop. 12-Jun-2002 United Biscuits, the snack foods manufacturer, is planning to return to the stock market within 14 months. 24-Dec-2001 United Biscuits is to close its McVities biscuit factory in Hatton, near Peterhead, with the loss of up to 123 jobs, in order to transfer production to Halifax. 14-Sep-2001 United Biscuits is planning to close its KP McVitie's sales division as part of a restructuring programme that will shed up to 400 staff and increase its focus on the wholesale sector. 21-May-2001 United Biscuits is to sell its 44% stake in the Young's Bluecrest frozen fish business to Legal & General Ventures, in order to focus on biscuits and savoury snacks. 12-Mar-2001 United Biscuits is to invest £1.2m in the modernisation of its KP Snacks plant in Consett, which will safeguard more than 200 jobs. 14-Dec-2000 United Biscuits has recommended a £1.25bn takeover offer from a consortium backed by Danone of France, but a rival bid could come from a Nabisco-backed consortium. 18-Dec-1999 United Biscuits is selling its frozen and chilled foods business to Heinz of the US for £190m, and the proceeds will be invested in its snacks operation. 23-Oct-1999 United Biscuits has rejected a £600m takeover offer from management for its snacks and frozen food divisions. 07-Oct-1999 United Biscuits is considering plans to sell its frozen and chilled foods business in smaller parts, due to a lack of interest in acquiring the whole division. 02-Oct-1999 United Biscuits is acquiring Stollwercke, the Hungarian biscuit company, for £18m. 10-Sep-1999 United Biscuits is looking to sell its frozen and chilled foods business for up to £250m, in order to focus on biscuits and snacks. 09-Aug-1999 United Biscuits is in discussions with Legal & General Ventures to combine its seafood operations with L&G's Bluecrest business, and the new company would be called Youngs Bluecrest Seafood. 02-Jul-1999 United Biscuits is discussing plans for a joint venture between its Young's seafoods operation and Bluecrest Seafood. 12-Mar-1999 United Biscuits is negotiating the sale of its Young's frozen seafoods business to Legal & General Ventures, the venture capital concern that owns Bluecrest Seafood. 06-Mar-1999 United Biscuits is to cut up to 250 jobs at its KP snacks factory in Billingham due to a fall in demand. 07-Jan-1999 Cadbury Schweppes is acquiring Wedel, the leading Polish confectionery brand, from PepsiCo for £46m, while United Biscuits is in negotiations to buy the Wedel biscuit business. 08-Sep-1998 United Biscuits has acquired Biscuits Delacre, which operates in France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, from Campbell Soup for £78m. 27-May-1998 United Biscuits is discussing the acquisition of Delacre, Campbell Soup's European biscuits business, in order to build up its operations in France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. 29-Apr-1998 United Biscuits is planning to buy back £150m of shares in November, and has now completed the second phase of its recovery plan. 13-Mar-1998 United Biscuits has announced a worldwide restructuring plan that will involve the creation of two divisions - McVitie's Group for the international biscuits business and UK Foods for the snacks and prepared foods. 11-Feb-1998 United Biscuits is selling its snacks businesses in Australia and France to PepsiCo, in return for Biscuiterie Nantaise, PepsiCo's French biscuit business, and £241m. 18-Nov-1997 United Biscuits is to focus its crisps business on supplying own-label products to supermarkets, as its KP brand has been unable to compete with Pepsico's Walker's brand. 12-Sep-1997 United Biscuits has sold its 60% stake in the Italian snacks producer ICA, its 84% stake in the Portuguese snacks company S&A, and is withdrawing from savoury snacks in Hungary. 09-Jan-1997 Ross Vegetable Products, the United Biscuits frozen vegetable products business, has undergone a £44m management buy-out. 18-Dec-1996 United Biscuits is now on phase 2 of its reconstruction, involving the consolidation of its business in Europe and the Far East, having suffered in 1995 from the costly withdrawal from the US and Spain. 15-Mar-1996 United Biscuits has restructured the Ross Young's frozen foods business into three divisions - McVitie's Prepared Foods, Young's and Ross Vegetable Products. 20-Jan-1996 United Biscuits has announced a management reorganisation and is moving from product to geographic organisation. 16-Dec-1995 United Biscuits has sold most of its Keebler salty snacks business in the US to a group of investors for $8m, and is closing a further two plants. 22-Nov-1995 United Biscuits is selling the frozen food activities of Keebler to Windsor Food for $86m. 17-Nov-1995 United Biscuits has sold Keebler, the US biscuit maker, to Inflo Holdings for $500m. 07-Nov-1995 United Biscuits hopes to sell its Keebler business in the US as well as a Spanish business. 15-Sep-1995 The information above comes from the UK Activity Report Copyright UK Business Park 1995-2007