Dairy Crest (LON:DCG) has been bought by Canadian company Saputo, in a deal worth £975 million. Dairy Crest, which owns brands such as Cathedral City Cheddar and Country Life butter. The company have recommended that shareholders accept the deal, which values the company at almost £1 billion. Saputo, which is based in Montreal, sells dairy products in more than 40 countries. In Canada it is the largest dairy processing producer, whilst in the U.S it is among one of the top three, owning brands such as Cracker Barrel. Saputo chairman and chief executive Lino Saputo Jr said: “We believe that under Saputo ownership, Dairy Crest will be able to accelerate its long-term growth and business development potential and provide benefits to Dairy Crest’s employees and stakeholders.”

Commenting on the proposed takeover, Stephen Alexander, Chairman of Dairy Crest, added:

“The board is unanimously recommending this all-cash offer by Saputo to buy Dairy Crest at an attractive premium, which represents compelling value for Dairy Crest Shareholders. Dairy Crest is a leading UK dairy company and the proud manufacturer of Cathedral City, the largest UK cheese brand. Saputo is one of the top ten dairy processors in the world. Both companies have built strong positions in the cheese sectors in their respective home markets.

“The Acquisition should enable Dairy Crest to benefit from Saputo’s global expertise and strong financial position to fulfil and accelerate its growth ambitions. The businesses have strong shared values and the board is confident that Saputo’s plans to invest in and grow the Dairy Crest business mean the proposed transaction is positive for all its stakeholders.

Whilst the company assured said “virtually” all its UK jobs are safe, Unite Union said it would be pushing for an “urgent meeting” with Saputo to secure the future of its 1,100 employees.

Today we have announced that our Board is unanimously recommending an all-cash offer by Saputo to acquire Dairy Crest https://t.co/JiPK9bTZE9

— dairycrest (@dairycrest) February 22, 2019

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Shares in the FTSE-250 firm are currently +13.78% as of 13:39PM (GMT).    

Pearson (LON:PSON) profits grew 8% for the year, despite a fall in sales, as cost-saving initiatives took effect. The educational publisher said adjusted operating profit for the year to 31 December 2018 was £546 million, despite underlying revenue declining 1% on a year-on-year basis. The fall in revenue was attributed to “portfolio changes”. The firm is in the midst of a restructuring its business, as it turns it focus more towards digital publishing. The firm also said it expects adjusted operating profits of between £590 million and £640 million in 2019. The company also anticipated cost cuts of £130 million, placing around 1,500 jobs at risk. John Fallon, Pearson’s chief executive said: “We made good progress last year. We increased underlying profits, outperformed our cost savings plan and invested in the digital platforms that are making us a simpler, more efficient and innovative company. He added: “We have a lot still to do, but we expect company-wide sales to stabilise this year, and grow again in 2020 and beyond.” Shares fell back in January after the company issued a trading update for the year, nothing a decline year-on-year revenues, as a result of a fall in sales of US Higher Education Courseware (US HECW) and US K12 courseware. Pearson was founded 175 years ago in 1844, initially operating in Yorkshire under the name S. Pearson & Son. Shares in the company are currently down -0.52% as of 11:38AM (GMT).  

The Italian newspaper la Repubblica said on Thursday that the country’s budget does not include measures strong enough to boost growth. By citing a European Commission document, the newspaper has stressed that the budget instead makes Italy a “contagion risk” for the Eurozone. According to the newspaper, the Commission’s Country Report will reveal that Italy’s 2019 budget will negatively impact economic growth and national debt. The report is set to be approved by the European Commission next Wednesday. “There are no measures capable of positively impacting on long-term growth,” the document said, as announced by la Repubblica. Last month, Italy slipped into its third recession in a decade. New GDP figures revealed that the country’s economy decreased by 0.2% over the last three months, following a 0.1% decrease from the third quarter. Being the third largest economy in the Eurozone, Italy’s recession has dragged down the rest of the region. The Eurozone only grew 0.2% in the final quarter of 2018, which is the same increase as that of the third quarter. Following the coalition between the right wing League party and anti-establishment Five Star Movement last year, the government revealed controversial budget plans. This sparked months of quarrelling with Brussels over the ambitious proposal that breached rules on government borrowing. Despite the original 2.4% figure being below the EU’s deficit limit of 3%, it remained far too high a figure for a country whose debt is as big as Italy’s. Italy’s recession means that its growth targets of its approved budget are highly unrealistic. The European Union’s economic commissioner, Pierre Moscovici, has not released a direct comment on the report cited by la Repubblica. He has said that the Commission will meet with Italy in May. “We will have to discuss in May with the Italian authorities where we are and the implementation of our agreement in December,” he said to a conference organised by Politico in Paris.

Ferrero has announced that it has temporarily stopped production at the biggest Nutella production plant in France’s Normandy region. Production was halted as a result of quality issues on Tuesday afternoon. “After reading the results of one of the quality checks at out Villers-Ecalles factory, we noticed quality defect in one of the semi-finished products used in the manufacturing of our products Nutella and Kinder Bueno,” the company said. “For now, we can say that none of our products currently on the market are affected by the situation and that supply to our customers continues uninterrupted,” it continued. Halting production is a precautionary measure taken by the company to investigate further. The outcome of the investigation is expected at the end of the week. Ferrero has said it would take countermeasures once these are made known. The chocolate hazelnut spread is one of the most iconic chocolates in the European confectionary market. Ferrero produces roughly 365,000 tonnes of Nutella each year. Elsewhere, Ferrero competitor Nestle revealed earlier this week that it was well positioned in confectionary following the success of its KitKat chocolate. Nestle sold its U.S confectionary business to Ferrero in a $2.8 billion deal last year, made to push Nestle closer towards more health-conscious products. Yesterday, the Nutella maker announced that its revenue reached $12 billion in the year ended in August 2018. Revenue was driven by its latest acquisition from Nestle as it included the sale of products such as Butterfinger and BabyRuth chocolate bars that were acquired under the deal. Originally founded in Alba, Italy by Pietro Ferrero in 1964, the company has been pursuing an acquisition campaign for four years under the Executive Chairman Giovanni Ferrero. In addition to its iconic chocolate hazelnut spread and Ferrero Rocher pralines, the confectionary business also produces Tic Tac sweets. Ferrero International SA’s headquarters is in Luxembourg.

The CEO of Heathrow airport said on Thursday that Europe’s biggest airport could benefit from additional trade if the UK leaves the European Union without a deal. Indeed, John Holland-Kaye told Reuters that if other modes of transport are blocked by additional congestion, London Heathrow trade could be boosted. “In the short-term, if there are queues at Dover, then there may be more cargo going on short-haul planes from European markets,” he said. “We don’t want to have a no-deal Brexit, and we don’t see a commercial advantage in a no-deal Brexit, but we are prepared for no deal.” According to the CEO, the airport has been preparing for a no-deal Brexit for the past four to five months. Preparations include stockpiling items such as mechanical components and rubber gloves that are imported from the EU. Though a no-deal outcome would not be idea for the airport, the airport is able to adapt in the case that the UK’s departure from the European Union comes without a deal. If the UK fails to come to an agreement with the EU, then it will leave the union next month without a deal. Across the channel, France announced that it is set to invest roughly £44.3 million in its ports and airports in order to brace itself for a no-deal. The French prime minister said that he “strongly believed” Britain would depart from the European Union without a deal. He told Reuters that he had decided to “trigger the plan for a no-deal Brexit” because a no-deal scenario is growing likelier. Elsewhere, UK businesses are bracing themselves for the official departure date – March 29^th. Many food retailers have stockpiled goods in the event of a disruption of the imports of goods into the UK. Unilever is one of the latest companies to reveal its Brexit contingency plans, announcing last month that it was stockpiling ice-cream ahead of the departure date. As the departure date draws closer, the nation has been left in the dark, now more than ever, regarding the country’s political future.

UBS has been ordered to pay a £3.9 billion fine by a French court over tax evasion allegations. The French court ruled that UBS should pay the fine, alongside €800 million to the French state, after the bank was found guilty of illicit solicitation and laundering of the proceeds of tax fraud. In a statement, the lender said it will appeal the French court’s decision, stating that it “strongly disagrees with the verdict.” It added: “The bank has consistently contested any criminal wrongdoing in this case throughout the investigation and during the trial. The conviction is not supported by any concrete evidence, but instead is based on the unfounded allegations of former employees who were not even heard at the trial.” The penalty is a significant blow to UBS, given that it proves higher than the bank’s 2018 profit of £3.7 billion. However, launching an appeal will mean the bank will not have to immediately initiate repayments. Shares in UBS (SWX: UBSG) fell sharply immediately after the news hit the markets. Back in September, UBS announced it was shifting operations to Frankfurt as a result of Brexit. It is one of many financial institutions to announce their intention to vacate London because of the withdrawal negotiations. Shares in the Swiss bank are currently down 1.32% as of 13:03PM (GMT).