Campbell Soup to sell European chips business to Valeo Foods

Campbell Soup has signed a deal to sell its European chips business to Valeo Foods, a portfolio company of CapVest Partners, for nearly £66 million.

The European chips business of Campbell Soup includes the UK-based Kettle Foods and the Netherlands-based Yellow Chips.

Kettle Foods, which is based in Norwich, England, produces hand-cooked crisps, rice snacks, popcorn, and vegetable-based chips. The company’s main brands are Metcalfe’s skinny popcorn and KETTLE Chips.

On the other hand, Yellow Chips produces vegetable and organic potato chips under private label snacks and its own brands like Go Pure.

Campbell Soup to divest European chips business to Valeo Foods. Photo courtesy of CSC BRANDS, L.P.

As per the agreement terms, Campbell Soup will retain ownership of the Kettle Brand business in the US and all other regions with the exception of Europe and the Middle East.

The US food company plans to expand the Kettle Brand as a key part of its snacks portfolio, which also features the Cape Cod, Lance, Late July, Emerald, Goldfish, Milano, Pepperidge Farm, Snyder’s of Hanover brands, and Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps.

Campbell Soup will use the proceeds from the sale to cut down its debt.

The sale of the European chips business is subject to customary closing conditions such as relevant regulatory approvals and also consultation with employee representative bodies.

The divestiture is likely to be wrapped in Q1 fiscal 2020. Campbell Soup was advised in the transaction by Barclays and Weil, Gotshal & Manges.

Recently, Campbell Soup agreed to divest its Australian biscuit brand Arnott’s and some of its international operations to global investment company KKR for $2.2 billion.

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