Lance acquires Brent & Sam's

Lance, a manufacturer of snack foods, has acquired privately held Brent & Sam's, a producer of branded and private label gourmet cookies.

Terms of the cash purchase were not disclosed. The purchase was funded with a draw under Lance's existing credit facility.

David Singer, president and CEO of Lance, said: "Adding an established line of high-quality premium cookies to our product offering will help broaden and diversify our product portfolio, capitalize on the growth in premium private label products and make us a more valuable partner to our customers.

"The Brent & Sam's team has built a reputation for delivering great tasting, innovative premium products for its customers, and we look forward to continuing their trend of innovation, customer service, growth and profitability."

Brent Bumpers, CEO of Brent and Sam's, said: "I am excited that Brent & Sam's strong heritage and product capabilities will be enhanced by Lance's significant distribution network, and I am confident that this combination will take the Brent & Sam's business to new heights."

Bristol-Myers Squibb is quietly sounding out potential bidders for a possible sale of Mead Johnson, its baby formula business, which is valued at between $7bn and $9bn.

The US drugmaker has tentatively approached PepsiCo, Danone, Nestlé, Kraft and HJ Heinz to test the appetite for a formal auction of Mead Johnson, according to people close to the situation. They said BMS had also put out feelers to pharmaceutical companies which have nutritional divisions, including Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis.

“BMS has made informal approaches, but it has not yet started a sales process,” they added.

It comes less than three months after BMS said it would conduct a strategic review of both its nutritionals business and ConvaTec, the wound care products supplier it owns, to focus on becoming a global biopharmaceutical company.

BMS declined to comment on the sale, but said it “continued to evaluate its strategic options with Mead Johnson and Convatec”. The company could also decide to spin off the units to shareholders, or do nothing.

Under Jim Cornelius, its new chief executive, BMS’s strategy is to shrink down into a focused maker of speciality pharmaceuticals.

Morgan Stanley and Citi, which have been mandated to auction ConvaTec, are understood to have extended the deadline for second round bids to June, after failing to attract enough interested bidders. So far, 3M, the diversified technology company which also has a healthcare business including wound care, has emerged as one of the strongest bidders.

For such consumer groups as Nestlé and Danone, acquiring Mead Johnson would cement their positions in the infant formula market.

Last year, Nestlé spent $5.5bn to acquire Gerber, the baby foods business, from Novartis, the Swiss pharmaceutical company; while Danone bought Numico, the Dutch maker of baby food, for $16.8bn.

Mead Johnson is best known for its Enfamil and Enfalac range of infant formula.

The division employs about 5,000 people globally and manufactures and markets more than 70 products in more than 50 countries.

BMS has already announced plans to cut costs by $1.5bn by 2010, including cutting 10 per cent of its workforce and closing more than half of its manufacturing plants. In January, BMS sold its Medical Imaging business to Avista Capital Partners, for $525m.

Hain Celestial Group Inc. said Thursday it has acquired the MaraNatha and SunSpire brands and their nut butter manufacturing facility in Ashland, Ore., from American Capital Strategies Ltd.

Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

MaraNatha is a producer of natural and organic nut butters. SunSpire is a maker of natural and organic chocolate products.

The brands generated sales of about $40 million in the United States and Canada last year, the company said.

Melville, N.Y.-based Hain Celestial said it expects the transaction to add to its earnings in fiscal 2009.

Hershey Names Binder Chief People Officer

Chocolate company Hershey Co. named Charlene Binder chief people officer, where she will oversee global human resources, corporate communications and facilities management.

Binder succeeds Marcella Arline, who last year announced her retirement.

Hershey has faced turbulence in its upper ranks. Chief Executive David West was thrust into his post after Richard Lenny abruptly announced his "retirement" in October.

In November, the Hershey Trust, the company's controlling shareholder, ousted six board members, in part, out of frustration with the company's declining financial performance.

"Charlene is an outstanding addition to our executive team," said West. "She has a strong record of leadership across global consumer goods organizations with an extensive background in all aspects of human resources. Charlene will lead our continued efforts to develop the organization structure and talent to support Hershey's global growth."

Binder joins Hershey from Dannon Co., the U.S. subsidiary of French dairy giant Group Danone, where she was vice president of human resources.

Unilever Streamlines; Aim Is Emerging Regions

Unilever NV said Thursday it is streamlining its management structure, in moves that further its strategy of focusing on developing markets and promoting executives with experience in those territories.

After years of many restructurings that failed to produce better results, the maker of Dove soap, Lipton tea and Ben & Jerry's ice cream, among other products, is now showing signs of progress.

The company, which has headquarters in London and Rotterdam, said its Central and Eastern Europe division will be incorporated into an enlarged Asia, Africa and Central and Eastern Europe unit. The move centralizes management of emerging economies that share similar consumer traits and potential for growth. Central and Eastern Europe had previously been lumped in with Western Europe, a mature market crowded with competitors.

Unilever also is combining its home and personal-care and foods units into a single division as a part of the company's continuing effort to raise its profitability by becoming leaner and more nimble.

For years, Unilever has been outperformed by rivals like Procte & Gamble Co., which have been more creative in introducing new products. Rather than simply redouble efforts in North America and Europe, Unilever Chief Executive Patrick Cescau has redrawn the company's world map to focus on emerging markets. As a result, Unilever has moved faster than competitors in transferring management and staff to the new locales. Emerging markets account for about 44% of the company's sales.

As part of the moves, several executives who have been working in developing markets are taking on expanded roles. Harish Manwani, 52 years old, and currently president Asia Africa, will lead the new expanded regional group; and Doug Baillie, 50, becomes president of Western Europe. Mr. Baillie was previously chief executive of Unilever's business in India. Vindi Banga, 53, currently president for foods, will head the merged home and personal-care and foods groups.

Cadbury Schweppes PLC Names New Chairmen

As previously announced, Sir John Sunderland will be retiring as chairman of Cadbury Schweppes in mid 2008 as the company demerges into Cadbury PLC and Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc (DPSG).

The bard of Cadbury Schweppes announced the appointment of Roger Carr as chairman of Cadbury PLC and Wayne Sanders as chairman of Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. following the demerger.

Roger Carr is currently the group's deputy chairman and senior non-executive independent director, having joined the Cadbury Schweppes Board in 2001. The board believes that Carr's broad industry experience, familiarity with the financial markets and knowledge of the confectionery business will provide Cadbury PLC with an excellent balance of skills to steer Cadbury PLC through the next phase of its development.

Roger Carr is also chairman of Centrica, chairman of Mitchells and Butlers and a member of the court of directors of the Bank of England.

For DPSG the chairman will be Wayne Sanders who spent 28 years at Kimberly-Clark where he served 11 years as chairman and CEO before retiring in 2003. Sanders is currently on the board of Texas Instruments and of Belo Inc., which recently undertook a demerger of its newspaper businesses. He is also a former board member of Adolph Coors Co. and a member of the board of governors of Boys and Girls clubs of America.

ConAgra buys veggie producer Watts Bros.

ConAgra Foods Inc. said Monday it bought an agricultural company Watts Brothers in Washington state to strengthen its Lamb Weston brand potato business.

Financial terms of the deal for the privately-held company were not disclosed.

Watts Brothers, based in Kennewick, Wash., operates a vegetable processing business in Washington and Oregon, as well as organic dairy, fertilizer, cold storage, packaging and agricultural farming divisions.

The company, founded in 1977, generates about $100 million in annual sales to retail, foodservice and industrial customers in the U.S., Mexico, Japan, China and elsewhere in Asia, ConAgra said. Its management team and about 350 employees will be offered jobs at ConAgra's Lamb Weston division.

ConAgra Chief Executive Gary Rodkin said the deal "will strengthen Lamb Weston's position in its core Northwest growing region, providing a more stable raw material base while also strengthening the Lamb Weston supply chain."

"Additionally, Watts Brothers' strong position in vegetables will complement existing potato product sales in both existing and new markets, providing additional opportunities for sales growth," he added in a written statement.

McCormick buys Canadian honey company for $75M

 

McCormick & Co. Inc., the Sparks spice company, said Wednesday it has acquired the shares of Billy Bee Honey Products Ltd. for $75 million in cash.

Billy Bee Honey, considered Canada's largest honey business with $37 million in annual sales, sold the shares in an auction, said Joyce Brooks, McCormick's assistant treasurer.

Brooks said the acquisition gives McCormick a strong complement to the savory products it already sells in Canada. Toronto-based Billy Bee is known for its honey-based mustards, sauces and salad dressing. It also sells Doyon brand products popular in Quebec.

"This is a leading brand of honey in Canada," she said. "We're really looking to expand the strong brands the company has geographically."

McCormick officials, in announcing the deal, said they expect the purchase to help earnings and the company's goal of 8 percent to 10 percent earnings per share growth. The deal was announced after the market closed Wednesday, so Wall Street didn't have a chance to react.

Alan D. Wilson, McCormick's CEO, said in a statement that Billy Bee Honey fit into the company's acquisition strategy. In November, the company announced it was buying the Lawry brand of sauces, marinades and spices.

The $75 million spent buying Billy Bee Honey is about eight times McCormick's EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) and will be financed through cash from operations and short-term lines of credit

P&G announces executives leaving, others promoted

Johnson, 64, will retire June 1. He will be succeeded by Steven Jemison, 56, P&G's deputy general counsel.

P&G, which is the parent company of Vandalia-based pet food maker Iams Co., made the announcement while also reporting the promotion of John Goodwin, 44, to head its newly revised snack and pet care division. The division is the process of breaking out its $1.6 billion Folgers coffee business - acquired by P&G in 1963 - into a separate company.

The division's former head, Jamie Egasti, will head up the new Folgers Coffee Co. when P&G finalizes that transaction, likely between July and December. Goodwin's promotion is immediate.

Ali Dibadj, an analyst covering P&G for Sanford C. Bernstein, called Goodwin a "very strong piece " of P&G's future leadership.

"I've known Goodwin for a while. He's a great, unique combination of solid, strategic thinking and operational acumen," Dibadj said. He added that Goodwin is facing a challenge, particularly in the pet care business, and he'll be responsible for turning that around. "But he is, again, a very strong performer."

The promotions in all demonstrate the depth of P&G's executive bench, said Matt McCormick, portfolio manager at Bahl & Gaynor in Cincinnati, which owns 6.8 million shares of P&G (NYSE: PG). McCormick compared the appointment of Goodwin, for instance, to the Reds bringing in an all-star player to replace another heavy hitter.

"When you reach that level, to be considered for these types of roles, you've been tested, you've been vetted," he said. "They're just reloading is how I would phrase it."

Goodwin, born in London, joined P&G in 1990 as a financial analyst. He moved through several finance positions worldwide before becoming the company's treasurer in 2004. He was promoted to vice president, finance and accounting, of P&G's Global Health and Well-Being unit in 2007.

Johnson, born in New York, joined P&G as an attorney in 1973, during the Nixon administration. Over the decades Johnson oversaw dozens of acquisitions, including Noxell, Wella and Gillette, as well as P&G's expansion into many foreign countries. He moved through several divisional and general council positions before being named chief legal officer in 1999. He is an emeritus trustee at the Cincinnati Museum Center and on the board of trustees of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, among other involvements.

"He is broadly respected for the clarity of his advice and counsel which has enabled the company to operate to the highest possible standards," P&G CEO A.G. Lafley said of Johnson, in a statement. "Steve is an exceptional lawyer and leader who will continue to provide high levels of counsel and service in his new role."