Some major business regarding the Canadian cheese industry was announced on Tuesday.
The Kraft Heinz Company has entered a definitive agreement to sell its Canadian cheese brands to Parmalat for a whopping $1.62 billion CAD.
The Kraft Heinz Company has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Canadian natural cheese business to Parmalat for CAD$1.62 billion (approximately US$1.23 billion).
— CareersInFood Canada (@CareersInFoodca) November 6, 2018
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That includes the popular brand Cracker Barrel, along with P’tit Quebec and aMOOza!, which contributed around $560 million to Kraft Heinz’s net sales last year.
“We’re excited about what this transaction means for our future growth and business in Canada,” said Bernardo Hees, COE of Kraft Heinz.
“We also believe Parmalat is uniquely positioned to advance the natural cheese business given their experience and focus on the dairy industry.”
The transaction, expected to close in the first half of 2019, includes Kraft Heinz’s Ingleside, Ont. production facility and around 400 employees.
Other Kraft brands will stay under Kraft Heinz control, like Philadelphia, Cheez Whiz and Kraft Singles.
All three of those brands are processed in Kraft Heinz’s Mount Royal, Que. production facility that houses around 900 employees.
Despite Tuesday’s agreement to sell certain brands, Kraft still employs around 2,000 people across Canada and recently acquired Vancouver-based coffee brand Ethical Bean.
Proceeds from the sale, when it goes through, are expected to primarily pay down Kraft Heinz’s debt.
