Del Monte Foods To Sell Consumer Products Business For $1.75B

SAN FRANCISCODel Monte Foods has reached an agreement to sell off its Consumer Products business to Del Monte Pacific Limited (DMPL) for $1.675 billion. The transaction is expected to be complete by the end of the year and will allow Del Monte Foods Pet Products business to focus on capturing growth in expanding $20 billion pet food and snack market.

The sale of the Consumer Products segment will ensure that both business units are best positioned for growth in their respective markets. Upon closing, Del Monte Foods will change its name to reflect its focus on the pet products market. The agreement comes after a strategic review that determined a sale of the Consumer Products business provided the best opportunities for the growth and stewardship of the company's two differentiated business portfolios.

DMPL owns the Del Monte® brand in the Philippines and is the exclusive licensee on the Indian sub-continent for processed products, and is the owner of the S&W® brand outside of the Americas for both processed products and fresh produce. The company is publicly traded in Singapore and the Philippines and has been a long-term supplier of processed pineapple to Del Monte Foods.

"Over the last two years, we have made significant investmentsoperationally, strategically and organizationallyto build the Consumer Products and Pet Products segments into businesses capable of capturing the significant opportunity available to each," said Dave West, CEO of Del Monte Foods. "We believe DMPL is the right company to build on the Consumer Products segment's recent success and achieve its next phase of growth, and we look forward to focusing on expanding our Pet Products business, which operates in one of the most attractive categories across the U.S. consumer packaged goods industry."

Del Monte Foods anticipates that the continued heightened importance of pets as part of the family, as well as higher consumer spending on more premium pet products, will continue to drive market expansion. The announced sale will allow Del Monte Foods to execute and place greater emphasis on its long-term strategy to strengthen the pet food and pet snacks brand portfolio, building on the recent acquisition of pet specialty brand Natural Balance®.