Unilever to get out of freeze?
Unilever is believed to be reviewing its frozen food farm, which includes brands such as Birds Eye and Ben & Jerry’s. An outright sale would raise several hundred million pounds.
The speculation comes after sales at the division fell to 6.63 billion euros last year from 6.99 billion euros during the previous 12 months, representing a 3.4% fall in underlying sales. Earlier this month Unilever reported a 29 percent fall in second-quarter earnings on Thursday and warned that Western Europe remains difficult and it needs to improve its competitiveness there.
The Sunday Times reported that changing consumer trends, including the growth of chilled convenience foods, have been a factor in the falling sales. The deliberations come as owners of other frozen-food assets look to realise their investments. EQT Scandinavia, the owner of Findus, is understood to have engaged Deutsche Bank to handle a sale of its stake, while CapVest is thought to be planning to sell Young’s Bluecrest in the next year, the report said.