Few people in the UK food industry were surprised this week to hear that the private-equity owners of United Biscuits were considering a sale. The Campbell Soup Company, Premier Foods, and even Grupo Bimbo of Mexico had been mooted in the past as possible suitors.
Fewer still doubted a sector-wide trend highlighted by Irene Rosenfeld at Kraft’s quarterly earnings this month – that China is an important growth market for snack food groups.
But analysts in the UK and US failed to anticipate interest from a Chinese company.
您已阅读17%（524字），剩余83%（2609字）包含更多重要信息，订阅以继续探索完整内容，并享受更多专属服务。