Rumours fly over KWV bid

In December 2010 the boxing gloves were donned at KWV’s board because members were furious over the leak of information to the outside world about the possible takeover of the company, the company’s asset value and the fact that KWV executives had been in informal discussions with Halewood for the past 18 months without informing the board.

Several board members and shareholders thought that Pioneer’s offer was far too low.

Local media found out that Halewood was not necessarily interested in taking over the whole of KWV, but wanted to concentrate only on certain brands that fitted its business model. It appeared that the company would be prepared to negotiate with Pioneer Foods about a possible splitting of KWV’s assets.