McCormick Shares Up 6% Since Disclosing Takeover Talks For Premier Foods

has seen its shares gain around 6 percent since the company made its intentions to acquire Premier Foods known. In a

issued on March 24, McCormick confirmed that it met with Premier Foods' Chairman on February 12, 2015. The distributor of spices, seasoning mixes and other flavorful products, offered to acquire Premier Foods for 60 pence per share which values the London-listed stock's enterprise value at approximately 1.5 billion pounds. McCormick added in its March 24 letter that its offer should be "well received" by Premier Foods' shareholders. According to

, McCormick raised its takeover proposal on Wednesday and will now offer 65 pence per share to acquire Premier Foods. "We see 65p as a good compromise price, allowing Premier's management to highlight the extra value it has extracted from McCormick, whilst also offering shareholders the opportunity of a cash exit today at a reasonably full EBITDA (core earnings) valuation," Reuters quoted analysts at Shore Capital as saying in a research note.