Valeo to raise €500m to fund Italian acquisition

Valeo Foods, the owner of brands from Jacob’s biscuits to Batchelors beans, is raising over €500 million in debt.

The money will be used to fund the acquisition of an Italian food company – announced earlier this month – and to pay off some existing borrowings.

Valeo, which is part-owned by private equity company CapVest and the Dublin-quoted agribusiness group Origin Enterprises, has hired BNP Paribas and JP Morgan to lead the transaction.