Mars to buy Britain's Hotel Chocolat for $662m (updated)
16/11/2023 08:12
(Adds background, detail)
LONDON, Nov 16 (Reuters) -
Britain's Hotel Chocolat HOTC.L agreed to a 534 million
pound ($662 million) takeover offer from Mars Inc on Thursday,
the specialist chocolatier succumbing to the U.S. food giant
with international expansion in mind.
Set up twenty years ago, Hotel Chocolat aimed to make
chocolate exciting by bringing ethical affordable luxury to the
British high street, and joint founder Angus Thirlwell remains
chief executive to this day.
The 375 pence per share recommended cash offer announced
on Thursday represents a 170% premium to Hotel Chocolat's share
price on day before the offer, and looks set to bring to an end
the group's seven years as a listed company.
Hotel Chocolat, with its luxury hotel on its cacao
estate in Saint Lucia, chocolate cookbooks and inventive tastes
which shunned sugar in favour of cocoa, chimed with consumers in
Britain and now has 130 stores across the country, plus a
presence in Japan through a partner deal.
But the group posted what it called disappointing
results in its last financial year -- its stock has fallen 11%
in 2023 so far -- and it said on Thursday expanding overseas
would require substantial investment.
Thirlwell, who will stay on with the business under
family-owned Mars, said growth would be faster under new
ownership.
"We know our brand resonates with consumers overseas,
but operational supply chain challenges have held us back. By
partnering with Mars, we can grow our international presence
much more quickly," he said in a statement.
Thirlwell and co-founder Peter Harris both own 27% of
the equity, according to LSEG data.
($1 = 0.8072 pounds)
(Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Kate Holton and James
Davey)
((sarah.young@thomsonreuters.com; +44 20 7542 1109; Reuters
Messaging: sarah.young.thomsonreuters@reuters.net))