The maker of products such as Birds Eye fish fingers has followed Weetabix as the latest household British brand to attract takeover interest from Asia.
Thai food group Charoen Pokphand Foods (CP Foods) is reportedly preparing a £2.5 billion bid for Birds Eye, which has been put up for sale by the private equity firm Permira.
Earlier this month, British cereal favourite Weetabix fell into the hands of China's Bright Food in a deal worth £1.2bn.
The Thai firm is believed to be up against private equity investors including Blackstone and BC Partners after first-round bids were lodged on Friday.
CP Foods, Thailand's biggest food producer with annual sales of about £6bn, already has sizeable operations in Britain. Its main office is near Kidderminster and it has a factory at Newmarket, where it makes own-label food for supermarkets including Tesco.
It is thought that CP is keen to expand Birds Eye in Asia and eastern Europe.
Feltham-based Iglo Group, which owns the Birds Eye brand, sold 2.2 billion fish fingers and generated £1.25bn in sales last year, including from other ranges such as frozen vegetables.
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