Madrid, Nov 26 - British private equity group Permira is studying the accounts of Spanish food company Ebro Puleva ahead of a possible offer, El Economista newspaper reported on Monday, citing Permira sources.
"It's a company we like and we're certainly studying their books," a source told El Economista, adding that a decision had yet to be made on whether the firm would make an offer.
Permira and Ebro Puleva officials were not immediately available to comment on the report.
Ebro Puleva shares have lost 30 percent of their value since the beginning of the year due to a rise in raw material costs.
Spain's largest publicly traded food company is currently valued at around 2 billion euros.
More than 60 percent of the company's stock is free floating, the rest held by various Spanish savings banks, the Hernandez family, the Spanish state and the Damm group.