Milling & Baking News - July 30, 2019 - 12

Business

PepsiCo acquiring South African
food and beverage company
forward to working with the Pioneer
Foods team to successfully build and
implement a shared vision in the region."
Once the acquisition is completed, PepsiCo will create a new business unit for

PIONEER FOODS

PURCHASE, N.Y. - PepsiCo, Inc. has
reached an agreement with Pioneer
Foods Group Ltd., Johannesburg, South
Africa, to acquire the company for approximately $1.7 billion. Pioneer Foods is
a manufacturer of cereals, juices and other products that are
sold throughout the continent.
"Pioneer Foods represents
a differentiated opportunity
for PepsiCo and allows us to
immediately scale our business in Africa," said Ramon L.
Laguarta, chairman and chief
executive officer of PepsiCo.
"Pioneer Foods forms an important part of our strategy
to not only expand in South
Africa, but further into subSaharan Africa as well. Our businesses
are highly complementary, and we look

sub-Saharan Africa called PepsiCo S.S.A.
The unit will be led by Eugene Willemsen,

Middleby purchases provider of
automated packaging technologies
ELGIN, ILL. - The Middleby Corp. has
acquired Souderton, Pa.-based Packaging
Progressions, Inc. (Pacproinc). Financial
terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Pacproinc provides automated packaging technologies for customers in the
protein and bakery segments. The company's interleaving, underleaving, stacking and card dispensing systems allow
customers to automate production, increase throughput and efficiency, reduce
downtime and production costs, enhance
product quality and presentation while
improving food and employee safety.
"Pacproinc has been very successful in
the development of highly engineered,

proprietary equipment that automates
bacon, deli meat, fresh beef patty, protein
alternative patty and pizza crust food
processing lines," said Tim Fitzgerald,
chief executive officer of Middleby. "They
have built a reputation as an innovative
leader. The Pacproinc solutions are highly
complementary to our existing processing
technologies and will enable Middleby to
supply a more complete system to customers and further extend our offerings in
new and fast-growing categories."
Middleby has been active on the acquisition front over the past few years. The
company acquired Hinds-Bock Corp., a
Bothell, Wash.-based maker of solutions

Post and TreeHouse hit snag in
R.-T.-E. cereal transaction
ST. LOUIS - Post Holdings, Inc. and
TreeHouse Foods, Inc., Oak Brook, Ill.,
have encountered a setback in the proposed Post acquisition of the private label
ready-to-eat cereal business from TreeHouse that was announced on May 2.
The Federal Trade Commission (F.T.C.)
indicated it is reviewing the transaction
in closer detail. Closing of the transaction,
which was expected in the third quarter
of 2019, will now be delayed beyond July,
according to the companies.
Post and TreeHouse Foods said they
12 / July 30, 2019

Milling & Baking News

remain committed to the transaction and
will continue to work collaboratively
with the F.T.C. to resolve the matter. In
the meantime, TreeHouse will continue
to independently operate the R.-T.-E. cereal business.
The business generated $268 million in
sales in 2018. It has a range of manufacturing capabilities and features two plants
in Lancaster, Ohio, and Sparks, Nev. Upon
closing, Post Holdings said it will integrate the business into its existing North
American R.-T.-E. cereal business. MBN

who most recently was executive vicepresident of global categories and franchise management for the company.
Pioneer Foods had sales of approximately $1.45 billion in 2018. Brands
owned by the company include Sasko
flour and bread products, Bokomo
Weet-Bix cereals, Ceres fruit juices and
Spekko rice varieties.
"Today's announcement
marks a very exciting milestone for Pioneer Foods and
our people, and highlights
the strength of what we
have created," said Tertius
Carstens, c.e.o. of Pioneer
Foods. "As part of PepsiCo,
we will have greater scale to
expand our leading brands,
greater capital to invest in
local agriculture and people,
greater access to leading
global capabilities and a partner committed to taking our company to
even greater heights." MBN
for filling and depositing bakery and food
products, in February 2018. In 2017 the
company added Scanico A/S, an Aarlborg, Denmark-based manufacturer of
industrial cooling and freezing equipment
for the food processing industry, Swedenbased Sveba Dahlen Group, and Burford
Corp., a manufacturer of industrial baking
equipment based in Maysville, Okla. MBN

Kellogg introduces Nutri-Grain
products for children
BATTLE CREEK, MICH. - With backto-school season on the horizon, Kellogg
Co. is bringing its Nutri-Grain brand to
a new audience. The company's new
Nutri-Grain Kids soft-baked mini breakfast bars were designed for children because "kids are the toughest food critics
around," Kellogg said.
"Kids eat what they like and won't what
they don't," Kellogg said. "Especially at
lunch. When school lunch bags come home
with items untouched, it means kids didn't
get food they liked or fuel they needed for
the day. That's why Kellogg's Nutri-Grain
is introducing Nutri-Grain Kids, the snack
to pack because it provides nutrients kids
need and a taste they'll love."
Packaged in boxes of single-serve
140-calorie pouches, Nutri-Grain Kids
bite-size bars provide eight grams of whole
grains per serving and feature filling made
with fruit. Flavors include Awesome Apple, Strawberry Blast and Grapetastic. All
varieties are free from artificial flavors and
high-fructose corn syrup. MBN
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

http://www.bakingbusiness.com http://www.world-grain.com

Milling & Baking News - July 30, 2019

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