The British maker of Flora and Branston has been bought by an Italian food giant for £700m.
Mitsubishi Corporation has sold Liverpool-based Princes Group to Newlat Food.
A merger would create a food giant with revenues of £2.4bn, with a plan for turnover to exceed £4bn within five years.
This follows more than a year of acquisition talks that attracted interest from global private equity firms.
The canned fruit and fish company has annual sales of around £1.5bn and employs 7,000 workers.
Marge merger: Liverpool-based Princes Group, which makes Flora margarine, has been sold by Mitsubishi Corporation to Newlat Food
It also sells basic household brands, such as Napolina canned tomatoes and Batchelors soup.
Princes has factories in Belvedere, Bradford, Cardiff, London, Glasgow, Lincolnshire and in Europe.
He did not comment on whether any British jobs are at risk due to the takeover.
Newlat Food produces pasta, milk and dairy products, instant noodles and bakery products.
Princes chief executive Simon Harrison said: “This is an exciting prospect for Princes and we are delighted that Newlat shares our confidence in the group’s strategic growth plans.”
