TOKYO-- Unilever said it would sell its North America pasta
sauces business under the Ragu and Bertolli brands to Japan's
Mizkan Group for $2.15 billion.
The deal, which includes two production facilities in Kentucky
and California, will help Mizkan, a 210-year-old closely-held
supplier of rice vinegar, beef up its operations in the U.S.
For Unilever, the deal represents the Anglo-Dutch group's latest
move to reshape its business to focus on higher-margin
personal-care brands with greater appeal in emerging markets.
Founded in New York in 1937 and bought by Unilever half a
century later, Ragú is the best-selling pasta sauce in the U.S.
with around a quarter of the market, according to Euromonitor
International. Ragú and Bertolli have annual sales of over $600
million, Unilever said.
The acquisition is Mizkan's latest deal to expand oversees. In
2011, Mizkan bought a U.S. processor of jalapeño peppers, Border
Foods, Inc. and, in 2012, it bought British brands Sarson's,
Haywards and Dufrais.
Meanwhile, Unilever, which owns brands including Lipton tea, Ben
& Jerry's ice cream and Dove soap, is in the middle of
revamping business as it seeks to shift more into Asia and other
emerging markets.
Last year, Unilever sold its Wish-Bone salad dressing to
Pinnacle Foods Inc. for $580 million and Skippy peanut butter to
Hormel Foods Corp. for $700 million. Already this year, the company
has unloaded its European meats business for an undisclosed
sum.
Write to Atsuko Fukase at atsuko.fukase@wsj.com and Peter Evans
at peter.evans@wsj.com
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