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Campbell Soup to acquire Bolthouse Farms for $1.55 Billion (CPB)

It seems that beverage companies and processed food makers are turning towards healthier food segments in order to boost their revenues.

While PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) announced on Monday that it plans to enter the yoghurt market in the U.S. by this summer, Campbell Soup Company (NYSE: CPB) unveiled that it would buy Bolthouse Farms in an all-cash deal amounting to $1.55 billion.

The deal will help Campbell Soup to include wide varieties of refrigerated juices and baby carrots. In addition, the acquisition will also help the company to gain foothold in packaged fresh foods market.

Currently, Campbell Soup portfolio includes wide ranging shelf-stable products such as soups and Pepperidge farm cookies.

According to the CPB, Bolthouse will continue to operate as an independent business unit. Bolthouse’s current President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Dunn will continue with the acquired unit.

Based in Bakersfield, Bolthouse was owned by a private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners; and it was the pioneer in launching baby carrots.

Campbell, weighed down by weak performance from its soup business will hope the new segment will provide the turnaround even as it finances the Bolthouse deal through both short term and long term debts. It is expected that the deal will materialize by end of the summer.

According to Campbell, the deal will enable the company to raise its earnings by 5 cents to 7 cents a share for the fiscal year 2013.

In the fiscal year 2012, the company expects sales to stand around the low end of its estimated range of flat to up 2 percent. Meanwhile, the Company also anticipates earnings per share falling by 5 to 7 percent from its initial upper end forecast.

While Campbell was advised by Morgan Stanley, Bolthouse was advised by Credit Suisse.

 


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