Kraft Heinz has been linked with a takeover bid for The Campbell Soup Company, with the soup maker's management reportedly set to commence a sales process 'soon', the New York Post has reported.
The paper quoted a source close to the company as saying that following a comprehensive review of the business, which is due to finish in August, the business may look to put itself on the market.
“They will likely put itself up for sale,” the source told the paper.
General Mills is another firm that could be poised to take over the business, according to the New York Post.
The paper also quoted a Campbell spokesperson as saying, “I won’t speculate on the outcome of the review, and as a matter of policy, we don’t comment on rumours or speculation." Kraft Heinz did not comment.
Challenging Times
In May, the soup maker posted a loss of $393 million in its third quarter, which was mainly due to a $619 million charge relating to its Campbell Fresh business, which has struggled since its creation in 2015. The company also marked down its full-year guidance, with Campbell CEO Denise Morrison also leaving the business.
“While our organic sales in the quarter were stable in this difficult environment, our gross margin performance was below our expectations," Campbell’s chief financial officer Anthony DiSilvestro said at the time.
"Based on our third-quarter results and outlook for the balance of the year, we are lowering our fiscal 2018 earnings guidance."
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
