Nestle In Talks To Buy Nordic Operations Of Findus - Report

Swiss food giant Nestle SA (NESN.VX) is in talks to buy the Nordic operations of U.K.-based frozen food maker Findus from private-equity company Lion Capital, the Financial Times reported Monday.

Lion Capital and its financial advisers Rothschild are also speaking to Norwegian consumer goods group Orkla ASA (ORK.OS) and seafood exporter Leroy Seafood Group ASA (LSG.OS), the paper said, citing two people close to the situation.

The deal could be worth 700 million euros-800 million euros, and could be used by Lion to pay down the debts of the rest of Findus, which Lion bought for GBP1.1 billion three years ago.

Findus employs 6,000 people and produces 345,000 tons of food each year at its 21 factories. The Nordic operations are seen as attractive, with around a third of the company's GBP1.1 billion revenue in 2010 coming from the region.

Nestle declined to comment on the report.

"We do not comment on market rumors," said spokeswoman Melanie Kohli.

Orkla also declined to comment, while a spokesman for Leroy wasn't immediately contactable.

Newspaper website: www.ft.com

-Zurich Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]