UK: Ferrero acquired a third of British chocolate maker Thorntons' shares | Progresiv
Ferrero has said it has purchased a 29.9 per cent stake in Thorntons, the troubled UK chocolate maker, with an agreement to buy the rest of the business after its directors recommended the offer. The Ferrero offer values the fully diluted share capital of Thorntons at approximately 111.9 million pounds. 
The deal comes after the UK chocolate maker's chief executive Jonathan Hart stepped down, following a series of earnings disappointments.
Mr Hart was responsible for refocusing the Derbyshire based business away from high street stores and towards becoming a fast moving consumer goods business, selling products wholesale to supermarkets.
But the group issued a pre-Christmas profit warning last year, saying cuts in orders by the major grocers had hit sales, while problems at a new centralised warehouse had led to lost or late sales.
Then, in March, Thorntons said it had seen an "unexpected reduction" in orders from major supermarkets that persisted into the second half of its trading year.
Ferrero has built up its 29.9 per cent stake after buying shares from holders including retail entrepreneur and former Thorntons chairman John von Spreckelsen and Crystal Amber, an investment fund that agitates for change at underperforming companies.
Ferrero is a successful global confectionery business with a strong family heritage and as such represents a good cultural fit for Thorntons. The Board of Thorntons therefore has given its unanimous recommendation for the Offer from Ferrero. (www.ft.com)
