Elliott spreads out with interest in KKR-backed Flora Food Group

The American investment firm Elliott Management is circling Flora Food Group, the spreads and margarines producer, amid signs that its owner is struggling to convince bidders to meet a €7bn (£5.8bn) asking price.

Sky News has learnt that Elliott - best-known for its activism in blue-chip boardrooms such as BP and GSK - has been holding talks with Flora and its advisors about an offer.

Flora, which owns brands including I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, is owned by the private equity giant KKR.

The early stages of the sale process drew interest from firms including Apollo Global Management, Capvest and OneRock, Sky News reported last month.

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However, talks with those firms are said to have cooled over KKR's value expectations.

A more limited set of discussions has been taking place in recent weeks with parties including Elliott.

It was unclear how likely a deal was to take place.

Elliott is also a significant private equity investor, owning companies such as Waterstones and frequently exploring bids for consumer-facing assets.

Flora last week issued a quarterly trading update which it hailed as offering evidence of a turnaround, with five consecutive quarters of organic net sales growth now under its belt.

Half of sales now come from what it describes as growth platforms.

Flora was previously owned by Unilever, which offloaded the business nearly ten years ago.

Flora is saddled with billions of Euros of debt following KKR's acquisition of the company and sluggish growth in much of the period since.

Its financial performance has been disappointing, with sales across large parts of the spreads category beset by weak growth and rising input prices.

In August, it reported a slight decline in half-year earnings, underlining the challenges facing the business.

Flora Foods is run by David Haines, a former Vodafone executive, and is chaired by the City grandee Sir Roger Carr, who has been at the helm of FTSE-100 companies including BAE Systems, Cadbury-Schweppes and Centrica.

With a history dating back to 1871, the company's portfolio also includes Becel ProActiv, BlueBand, Country Crock and Violife.

Initially rebranded as Upfield after its sale to KKR, the company came close to being taken over by ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund, in 2024.

Those talks were abandoned after the two sides failed to agree a price.

KKR drew up plans to make its entire portfolio plant-based by 2025, but later ditched the proposal amid shifting consumption habits.

The spreads division was one of a number of major businesses offloaded by Unilever in recent years, which have also included Magnum Ice Cream and Lipton Teas and Infusions, the owner of PG Tips.

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Unilever recently announced an even more substantial deal which involved combining its entire food division with McCormick of the US.

That deal now faces an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority, it said this week.

In August, Sky News revealed that Colman's, the historic mustard brand, is the subject of a separate sale process. The auction of Flora Foods is being run by bankers at Goldman Sachs and Citi.

Elliott and Flora declined to comment.

(c) Sky News 2026: Elliott spreads out with interest in KKR-backed Flora Food Group