Unilever bags 2.15bn dollars from Ragu and Bertolli sale

22nd May 2014 07:14

Unilever has agreed to sell its North America pasta sauces brands, Ragu and Bertolli, for 2.15bn dollars cash to Japan's Mizkan Group.The annual turnover for Ragu and Bertolli is more than $600m. The transaction includes two production facilities - a sauce processing and packaging facility in Kentucky and a tomato processing facility in California. Unilever's President for North America, Kees Kruythoff, said: "This sale represents one of the final steps in reshaping our portfolio in North America to deliver sustainable growth for Unilever, and enables us to sharpen our focus within our foods business."The Ragu and Bertolli business leads the pasta sauce category in the United States, and we believe that the potential of both brands can be fully realized with Mizkan." The transaction, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions, is expected to close by the end of June.OH