Kraft Foods is to sell its UK desserts business to Premier Foods, the UK-based supplier of grocery products for $135 million.
The proposed sale includes the Bird’s, Angel Delight and Dream Topping brands, which generated 2003 annual revenues of $72 million.
The transaction, which is subject to required approvals, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2005 following completion of necessary employee consultation requirements.
“We are focusing on larger-scale businesses where we can achieve sustainable competitive advantage,” said Thibaud de Saint-Quentin, Vice President and Area Director of Kraft’s UK & Ireland businesses. “The desserts business, which is concentrated in the UK and Irish markets, is better aligned with a manufacturer such as Premier Foods that has a strategic focus on the desserts category.”
Following completion of the sale, desserts production will transfer within a period of 12 months from Kraft’s manufacturing facility in Banbury, UK to Premier.
Kraft’s soluble coffee operations at the Banbury plant are unaffected by the proposed sale.
