Nestle : sells small New Zealand candy brands in latest divestment
July 12, 2018 at 07:43 am EDT
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ZURICH (Reuters) - Nestle is selling some small New Zealand candy brands, including Mackintosh's toffees and Black Knight licorice, to Australia's Quadrant Private Equity, the latest example of the world's biggest food company tidying up its portfolio.
"Following a review of Nestle's confectionery business in Australia and New Zealand, Nestle is looking to focus on its major chocolate, baking and medicated lozenge brands in New Zealand," Nestle said in a statement on Thursday.
It said it had reached a conditional agreement to sell kiwi confectionery brands Mackintosh's, Heards, Black Knight and Fabulicious Red Licorice as well as other Oceania brands Life Savers and Oddfellows to Quadrant. It did not disclose the price of the deal.
The company said up to 55 jobs out of a total of over 270 would be lost at its Wiri factory that will reduce output to focus on culinary products, such as Maggi soups.
Nestle agreed to sell its U.S. confectionery business to Italy's Ferrero for $2.8 billion (2.12 billion pounds)in January, and is under shareholder pressure to divest more.
Activist shareholder Third Point is publicly pushing for a faster overhaul at the company aimed at improving sales and profits at the Swiss company grappling with weakened demand for packaged food.
(Reporting by Silke Koltrowitz in Zurich and Martinne Geller in London)
Nestlé S.A. is the world's leading agri-food group. Net sales break down by category of products as follows:
- powdered and liquid beverages (26.7%): soluble coffees (Nescafé and Starbucks brands), coffee in capsules (Nespresso), chocolate drinks (Nesquik, Milo, etc.), tea drinks (Nestea), etc.;
- pet food (20.3%): brands such as Purina, Friskies, Felix, etc.;
- pharmaceutical, nutrition and well-being products (16.4%): nutritional supplements (Resource, Boost, Nutren, Optifast, Peptamen brands, etc.), infant and maternal nutrition products (NAN, illuma, Cerelac, Nido, Gerber), ketogenic beverages (BrainXpert), (Nesquick, Fitness, Cheerios, Lion, etc.), etc.;
- ready meals and seasoning products (12.5%): frozen and chilled dishes (Lean Cuisine, Hot Pockets and Stouffer's brands), soups (Maggi), etc.;
- dairy products and ice cream (11.8%): powdered milk, sweetened condensed milk, yoghurt and cream desserts, ice cream (Nido, Nesvita, Carnation, La Laitière, Coffee Mate, Nestlé Ice Cream, Dreyers, Häagen-Dazs, Extrême brands, etc.);
- chocolates, sweets and biscuits (8.7%): Kit Kat, Smarties, Cailler, Terrafertil, etc. brands;
- bottled waters (3.6%): Nestlé Pure Life, Vittel, Perrier, S. Pellegrino, etc. brands.
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: Switzerland (1.2%), France (3.8%), the United Kingdom (3.8%), Germany (2.4%), Europe (12.8%), the United States and Canada (35%), China (5.9%), Asia and Oceania (21.4%) and Latin America (13.7%).
NESTLÉ S.A. 
