Campbell eyes sale of Kettle Chips to tackle debt

By Gill Hyslop

- Last updated on GMT

Campbell Soup is reported to be eyeing the sale of Kettle Chips. Pic: Kettle Chips
Campbell Soup is reported to be eyeing the sale of Kettle Chips. Pic: Kettle Chips

Related tags Snyder's-Lance Kettle chips Campbell soup company Diamond foods

The Press Association has reported Campbell Soup is purportedly looking to shed another of its businesses in a bid to help pay down debt.

The US food giant had more than tripled its debt load to finance its $6.1bn acquisition of Snyder’s-Lance​ earlier this year.

As part of its turnaround efforts, Campbell last month announced plans to sell the Bolthouse Farms business to a private equity firm for $510m. It also agreed to sell its Garden Fresh Gourmet business, which it bought for $231m in 2015.

Now, Campbell is believed to have hired Barclays to explore the sale of Kettle Chips.

Changing hands

If sold, the new owner will be the third that Kettle Chips will have had in four years.

The snack brand was acquired by Campbell as part of the Snyder’s-Lance deal.

Snyder-Lance, in turn, had attained it as part of its procurement of Diamond Foods in 2016.

Cameron Healy launched Kettle in Oregon in 1978. The company expanded its footprint to the UK a decade later, and today employs almost 500 people across two Norfolk sites.

The UK arm of Kettle posted a drop in revenue for the seven-month period to July 31 2018, following ‘very intense’ competition in the UK market and increased brand investment, according to a Companies House report.

It fell to a £4.3m operating loss in the seven-month period from a £51k profit for FY2017.

Campbell and Barclays both declined to comment.

Related topics Manufacturers Snacks Snyder's-Lance

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