Campbell completes divestiture of its Fresh division by closing Bolthouse Farms sale

19 Jun 2019 --- Campbell Soup Company has closed the sale of Bolthouse Farms to an affiliate of Butterfly Equity, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, for a purchase price of US$510 million, subject to customary adjustments. This marks the completion of the divestiture of the Campbell Fresh division and closely follows the company signing a definitive agreement for the sale of Garden Fresh Gourmet to an affiliate of Fountain of Health USA, a maker of hummus, dips, variety packs, prepared salads, pâtés and frozen desserts.

The company says that net proceeds from the divestitures will be used to pay off debt and it will continue to report the Campbell Fresh segment as “discontinued operations” when it announces fourth-quarter and full-year fiscal 2019 earnings in August. 

Campbell says the sale of Bolthouse Farms allows it to better focus on its “iconic brands which have strong market positions.” The deal comes after the long-established US snacks and soup company announced it was going through a strategic review last summer following a drawn-out period of falling sales. 

At the time Campbell outlined, as part of its board-led strategy and portfolio review, that it was launching a thorough divestiture processes for both its Campbell Fresh and Campbell International businesses, with the aim to “maximize value,” significantly reduce debt and strengthen its balance sheet.

The Board decided that the best path forward to drive shareholder value was to focus the company on two core businesses in the North America market with a proven consumer packaged goods business model. 

California-based Bolthouse Farms is a vertically integrated food and beverage company focused on developing, manufacturing and marketing proprietary, high value-added, natural, healthy products. It has leading market positions in fresh carrots and refrigerated premium beverages in the US as well as a strong presence in refrigerated salad dressings. It also has access to more than 65,000 acres of premium growing land, nationwide fresh distribution capabilities, and a state-of-the-art carrot and beverage processing facility. The company operates facilities in Bakersfield, California, Hodgkins, Illinois, Wheatley, Ontario and Prosser, Washington and has around 2,200 employees.

Butterfly Equity is a private equity firm specializing in the food sector, spanning the entire food value chain from “seed to fork” via four target verticals: agriculture & aquaculture, food & beverage products, food distribution and foodservice.