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		</div><p>The board of chocolate maker Thorntons said it has reached an agreement to sell itself to Italian rival Ferrero Rocher for around £111.9m.</p>
<p>The offer for the England-based firm represents 145p a share, a 42.9% premium over the undisturbed closing price of the shares last Friday before the bid was announced.</p>
<p>Ferrero Rocher, which makes the distinctive round hazelnut chocolates wrapped in gold foil, said the move was a chance to grow in the important UK market, where it has operated since 1966. Shares in Thorntons jumped 42%.</p>
<p>Ferrero Rocher is famous for the TV ad in the 1990s which featured the chocolates being passed around at an embassy party with the much parodied line: &#8220;Ambassador, with these Rocher, you&#8217;re really spoiling us.&#8221;</p>
<p>Thorntons chairman Paul Wilkinson said: &#8220;Ferrero is a successful global confectionery business with a strong family heritage and as such represents a good cultural fit for Thortons</p>
<p>&#8220;The board of Thorntons therefore has given its unanimous recommendation for the offer from Ferrero.&#8221;</p>
<p>Ferrero chief executive Giovanni Ferrero added: &#8220;We delivered our best ever results in the UK in 2014, giving us confidence that now is the right time to broaden our roots in this important market.&#8221;</p>
<p>In February Thorntons said its half-year profits were &#8220;disappointing&#8221; after they dipped 8.2% to £128.2m.</p>
<p>It said it was hit by a cut in orders at two major supermarkets and teething problems at its new centralised warehouse.</p>
<p>Thortons was established by Joseph William Thornton in 1911, and has 242 of its own stores and cafes in the UK and Ireland and a franchise estate of 158 outlets.</p>
<p>It employs some 3,500 staff, and around 3% of its revenues are currently generated overseas.</p>
<p>Ferrero, which also makes Kinder and Nutella, posted sales of €8.4bn in the year to the end of last August, and employs around 27,000 staff.</p>
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