ConAgra cuts the fat with double divestment
ConAgra Foods claims to be one of the largest packaged consumable goods companies in North America and announced its double divestment in Chicago on Tuesday 26 July.
Its full-line food ingredients distributor JM Swank was sold to private equity firm Platinum Equity for an undisclosed sum. Givaudan, a Swiss-based flavour manufacturer, acquired Spicetec Flavors & Seasons for $340m.
ConAgra Foods president and chief executive officer Sean Connolly, described the duo of deals as a “milestone” for the Fortune 500 business. Divestment of the two ingredients firms is “another step on our journey to becoming a more focused and higher performing company”, he said, adding that both companies were “well positioned for continued growth”.
‘Strong platform’
ConAgra made $488m from the two sales, although this is subject to final working capital adjustments.
“We are excited about the prospects for JM Swank and look forward to working with management to support the company’s long-term strategy,” said Platinum Equity principal Adam Cooper in a company statement.
“We believe it is a strong platform for growth, both organically and through prospective add-on acquisitions.”
‘Complementary’
JM Swank CEO Shawn Meaney was quoted in the Platinum Equity statement and said the business was “excited to begin this new chapter in JM Swank’s evolution”.
Givaudan’s acquisition of Spicetec Flavors & Seasonings was announced on 23 May, but the deal was only closed on 26 July. In a statement on the matter, Gilles Andrier, CEO of Givaudan, said: “This acquisition is a step forward in a key pillar of our 2020 roadmap, integrated solutions.
“The Spicetec product portfolio and capabilities are very complementary to Givaudan’s and will help us quickly expand our integrated savoury solutions.”
