After a couple of days of speculation in the media, PinguinLutosa has announced a principle agreement on the proposed sale of the Lutosa division (potato products) has been reached.

A term sheet was signed in which the enterprise value has been fixed at €225 million ($283m) and the transaction is subject to the fulfilling of a number of conditions which are common in similar transactions (including confirming due diligence, acceptance by the competition authorities and acceptance by the Board of Directors of the buyer).

PinguinLutosa expects to sign the final agreements by the end of September and to finalise the transaction before the end of 2012.In accordance with a confidentiality commitment PinguinLutosa said the name of the buyer can only be made public at the moment of closing of the negotiations.

At the closing of the transaction PinguinLutosa will provide more extensive information on the transaction itself and the impact on the balance sheet and the activities of the Group.

Pinguin bought Lutosa in June 2007 for €175 million – $235m at that time.