Kraft Sells Pizza Business for $3.7 Billion

NORTHFIELD, Ill.Kraft Foods sold its North American frozen pizza business to Nestlé on Jan. 5 for $3.7 billion in a move to strengthen its $16 billion-plus offer for to acquire U.K.-based chocolate maker Cadbury, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Kraft pizza franchise includes DiGiorno, Tombstone, California Pizza Kitchen, Jack's and Delissio brands. According to Nestlé, Kraft's pizza unit had a 2009 operating profit of $297 million and an operating margin of 14.2 percent. The deal is valued at 1.8 times estimated 2009 sales.