Kraft announces CA$1.62bn sale of its Canadian natural cheese business
Kraft Heinz announced on 6 November that it has agreed a CA$1.62bn sale of its Canadian natural cheese business to Italian multinational dairy firm Parmalat
In the press statement announcing the sale, Kraft said the sale includes natural cheese brands Cracker Barrel, P’tit Quebec, and aMOOza!, as well as its Ontario production facility.
Around 400 employees at the facility will be transferred to Parmalat, and the deal is expected to complete in the first half of 2019.
Kraft’s ownership and distribution of cheese products including Philadelphia, Cheez Whiz, and Kraft Singles will continue, and the firm said in its statement that it remains committed to its operations in the Canadian market.
To that effect, Kraft noted its recent acquisition of coffee company Ethical Bean, based in Vancouver, and its 2,000-strong roster of employees across Canada.
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“We’re excited about what this transaction means for our future growth and business in Canada,” said Bernardo Hees, CEO of Kraft Heinz.
“We also believe Parmalat is uniquely positioned to advance the natural cheese business given their experience and focus on the dairy industry.
“At the same time, we can focus on the segments and categories where we have stronger brand equity, competitive advantage and greater growth prospects.”
According to Kraft’s statement, the business included in the sale added around CA$560mn to the company’s net sales in 2017.
