Campbell Soup Sells Godiva Business for $850 Million

Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) said Thursday it will sell its Godiva Chocolatier unit to a Turkish company for $850 million. Yildiz Holding A.S., which is a diversified food company based in Turkey, will take over the luxury chocolate brand whose annual sales total about $500 million."We are very pleased with the value we obtained for Godiva," said Campbell's CEO Douglas R. Conant. "The agreement allows Ülker to expand and diversify its portfolio with an elite, global luxury brand and enables Campbell to sharpen our strategic focus on simple meals, anchored by soup, baked snacks, and vegetable-based beverages." Campbell had announced in August it would explore the sale for Godiva. Shares of Campbell Soup traded up 0.4% to $36.26 in midday trading Friday.

Sources: Press release, Reuters

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