The British Princes, subsidiary of the Japanese Mitsubishi Corporation, would be on the verge of being acquired by the Emilian Newlat. This was revealed by rumors from more than one newspaper, according to which the Italian group would be in pole position in the financial operation but will have to contend - among its competitors - with the English private equity firm Epiris. However, other international private equity companies, namely Lone Star, Apollo Global Management, CapVest and One Rock Capital, would now be out of the picture. The British press reports a purchase price of around 400 million pounds.

If it were to complete the operation, Newlat would open a very important gap in the international market, incorporating the approximately 1.5 billion turnover of Princes into a business that already includes profitable brands such as Gilio, Polenghi Lombardo or Delverde. For Newlat, it would mean abundantly doubling a turnover which, in 2022, was 730 million euros, while in the first nine months of 2023, consolidated net receipts exceeded 600 million. The timing of the operation could see the purchase completed just before Christmas.

Princes is an agri-food group founded in 1880 in Liverpool and active in six different sectors: special oils, fruit juices, soft drinks, pasta, vegetables, canned tuna. Princes' main strength is its canned tomatoes. The acquisition by Mitsubishi Corporation occurred in 1989.