Del Monte Foods in $4 billion buyout

By Ben Rooney, staff reporter


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Del Monte Foods, the consumer and pet food company, agreed to be bought by an investor group for $4 billion, the company announced Friday.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Vestar Capital Partners and Centerview Partners will pay a premium price of $19 per share for the San Francisco-based company. The deal, which includes $1.3 billion in Del Monte's net debt, is valued at about $5.3 billion.

Del Monte (DLM) shares rose 4% to $18.75 on Friday after closing at $17.99 on Wednesday. U.S. financial markets were closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Under the terms of the deal, Del Monte is allowed to solicit alternative proposals through Jan. 8, 2011. The company said it will "actively" seek other suitors, but if no "superior offer" is found the deal announced Friday is expected to close by the end of March.

"This transaction will enable our Company to continue to successfully grow, building on the foundation our team has put into place," Richard Wolford, chief executive of Del Monte Foods, said in a statement.

Del Monte, which had sales of $3.7 billion in fiscal 2010, produces and distributes food under its own name and others, including S&W, Contadina and College Inn. It also has a large portfolio of pet foods such as Meow Mix, Kibbles 'n Bits and Milk-Bone.

Simon Brown, a member of KKR's consumer group, said in a statement that the firm looks forward to continuing Del Monte's "proven strategy for growth."

"Del Monte has a first-rate brand portfolio and excellent reputation for providing high quality and nutritious products to families and their pets," he said. To top of page

Just the hot list include
Frontline troops push for solar energy
The U.S. Marines are testing renewable energy technologies like solar to reduce costs and casualties associated with fossil fuels. Play
25 Best Places to find rich singles
Looking for Mr. or Ms. Moneybags? Hunt down the perfect mate in these wealthy cities, which are brimming with unattached professionals. More
Fun festivals: Twins to mustard to pirates!
You'll see double in Twinsburg, Ohio, and Ketchup lovers should beware in Middleton, WI. Here's some of the best and strangest town festivals. Play
Index Last Change % Change
Dow 32,627.97 -234.33 -0.71%
Nasdaq 13,215.24 99.07 0.76%
S&P 500 3,913.10 -2.36 -0.06%
Treasuries 1.73 0.00 0.12%
Data as of 6:29am ET
Company Price Change % Change
Ford Motor Co 8.29 0.05 0.61%
Advanced Micro Devic... 54.59 0.70 1.30%
Cisco Systems Inc 47.49 -2.44 -4.89%
General Electric Co 13.00 -0.16 -1.22%
Kraft Heinz Co 27.84 -2.20 -7.32%
Data as of 2:44pm ET
Sponsors

Sections

Bankrupt toy retailer tells bankruptcy court it is looking at possibly reviving the Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us brands. More

Land O'Lakes CEO Beth Ford charts her career path, from her first job to becoming the first openly gay CEO at a Fortune 500 company in an interview with CNN's Boss Files. More

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.