Hebrew National may soon answer to a different authority. Conagra Brands Inc. is in talks to sell the famous hot dog brand to Brazil s JBS SA, people familiar with the matter said. A deal, which the people said could also include the Egg Beaters and Odom s Tennessee Pride brands, could be valued at around $700 million. Any agreement is likely weeks away and Conagra could end up keeping the business or selling it to someone else, the people cautioned. Conagra in April 2019 said Hebrew National s sales over the previous year were $170 million, and Egg Beaters were $78 million. But the kosher hot dog s popularity and cultural cache transcend the brand s size, thanks in part to its long-running slogan, We answer to a higher authority.
A deal, which could also include the liquid egg white brand Egg Beaters and sausage product brand Odom's Tennessee Pride, could be valued at around $700 million, the people said. Any agreement, however, is likely weeks away and Conagra could end up keeping the business or selling it to someone else, the people told the financial newspaper. Food companies are looking to reshape their portfolios as a pandemic-driven surge in at-home eating gives a boost to companies' balance sheets and revives sales of slower-growth brands, which they will use as tools to fetch better-than-normal valuations, Credit Suisse analysts wrote in a note in December.
BRASILIA (dpa-AFX) - Conagra Brands Inc. (CAG) is in talks to sell famous hot dog brand Hebrew National to Brazil's JBS SA, the Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter.Hebrew
Dive Brief:
Conagra Brands is in talks to sell its Hebrew National hotdog brand to beef processor JBS as part of a deal worth around $700 million, The Wall Street Journal reported. The business publication said any transaction could also include other brands like Egg Beaters and Odom s Tennessee Pride.
The paper said the talks are ongoing, and any agreement is likely weeks away. Conagra could end up keeping the business or choose to sell it to another company.
The divestiture by Conagra would be the latest step in the CPG giant s reshuffling of its portfolio following its acquisition of Pinnacle Foods three years ago, and it would give JBS a larger brand presence on retail shelves.
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For JBS, the biggest beef processor in the U.S., buying the business would expand its reach into grocery store meat cases at a time when consumers have shifted their food-buying preferences toward supermarkets and away from sit-down restaurants.
JBS has a market value of over $12 billion and derives most of its revenue from the U.S., where its businesses include the Swift beef and pork-processing company and Pilgrim s Pride, the nation s second-largest chicken supplier.
Should JBS clinch the deal, it would expand its portfolio of consumer brands, which the company aims to build. Name-brand meat products tend to carry higher profits than bulk meat sold to restaurants, and to supermarkets in shrink-wrapped trays. In February 2020, JBS announced a $238 million deal to buy Empire Packing Co., parent of the Ledbetter-branded retail-meat products.