Advent, GIC said to consider £4bn bid for Unilever tea brands

Private equity firm Advent International has reportedly teamed up with Singapore’s Government Investment Corporation (GIC) to put forward a £4bn offer for PG Tips and Unilever’s other tea brands.

According to Sky News, the two are in discussions about a joint offer for the division ahead of a bid deadline next week.

Sky said that if confirmed, the Advent-GIC consortium would be pitted against rival suitors including a combined offer from Cinven and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and interest from Carlyle, Clayton Dubilier & Rice and KKR, three other large private equity firms.

It was understood that Unilever chief executive's Alan Jope is looking to sell or spin off the company’s tea unit, which also other famous brands such as Lipton Ice Tea, due to sluggish sales growth globally.

At 15010 BST, Unilever shares were up 1.1% at 4,001p.