Heinz has offer for seafood unit
Heinz has received an offer for its European Seafood operations, including the John West, Petit Navire and Mareblu brands, and four processing facilities.
The unit has 5,000 employees and annual sales of £400 million.
It produces more than 400 million cans of seafood products per year.
The factories are based in the Seychelles, Ghana, France and Portugal. Heinz plans to drive growth in Europe by investing in three core categories of ketchup, condiments and sauces; infant nutrition; and meals and snacks.
In a separate move, Heinz’s HP Foods has agreed the sale of its Ethnic Foods business to Associated British Foods. Heinz bought HP Foods in August 2005 to focus on Lea & Perrins, HP and Amoy sauce brands.
The ethnic trade comprises a small part of HP, suppling a wide range of brands to the Chinese, Indian and Thai restaurant sector as well as specialist retailers.
The brands include Rajah, Green Dragon, Lotus, Maharajah, Cathay and Dynasty.
The sale is due to be completed in the next two months and will include the transfer of 30 employees based in UK and Europe. The UK Competition Commission, currently investigating Heinz’s acquisition of HP, has approved the proposed sale.