2nd UPDATE: Boparan Considers Cash Bid For Northern Foods

Boparan Holdings Ltd., headed by a British chicken tycoon, Wednesday confirmed it was considering a possible cash offer for Northern Foods PLC (NFDS.LN), which last month agreed an all-share merger with Ireland's Greencore Group PLC (GCG.DB).

Privately held Boparan, which owns 6.6% of Northern Foods, said that it was at a preliminary stage in evaluating a possible bid for the company and cautioned that there was no certainty an offer would be made.

Northern Foods earlier said it had received a letter from Boparan requesting access to information about the company, although an offer hadn't been made and Boparan's intentions were unclear.

The U.K. food producer, which has a market capitalization of GBP304.6 million, is in the midst of an all-share merger of equals with Greencore. That deal already has been approved by the board. Shareholders will vote on that merger Jan. 31.

"Shareholders should be aware that there is no certainty that an offer will be made nor as to the terms upon which any such offer may be made," Northern Foods said in a statement about Boparan's approach.

At 1132 GMT, Northern Foods' shares traded up 4 pence, or 7%, at 65 pence. The stock has gained 6.5% in value since the start of the year.

Early Wednesday, U.K. media reported without citing sources that tycoon Ranjit Boparan was planning a GBP300 million hostile bid for Northern Foods.

The company produces ready meals, sandwiches, salads and chilled pizzas for U.K. supermarkets, including Tesco PLC (TSCO.LN) and Marks & Spencer Group PLC (MKS.LN), and produces its own branded products including Fox's biscuits and Goodfella's and San Marco pizzas.

Dublin-based Greencore produces prepared meals under the Weight Watchers and other brands, chilled sauces and soups, cakes and desserts, sandwiches, prepared salads and sushi.

The two companies plan to combine in a merger of equals to create a business called Essenta Foods, which will be headquartered in Dublin with an operational center in Yorkshire, England.

"The board of Northern continues unanimously to recommend shareholders to vote in favor of the proposed merger," the company said.

Greencore echoed Northern Foods' comments.

"The board of Greencore continues to believe that the recommended all-share merger of Greencore and Northern Foods to form Essenta Foods represents a compelling opportunity for value creation for both Greencore and Northern Foods shareholders, through the creation of a business with real scale in the industry and substantial synergies," it said.

-By Patricia Kowsmann, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]