Campbell Closes Sale Of Bolthouse Farms, Completing The Divestiture Of Campbell Fresh Division

June 17, 2019 12:45 PM (EDT)

CAMDEN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Campbell Soup Company (NYSE: CPB) announced today it has closed the sale of Bolthouse Farms to an affiliate of Butterfly Equity, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, for a purchase price of $510 million, subject to customary adjustments.

The sale of Bolthouse Farms marks the completion of the divestiture of the Campbell Fresh division. Campbell previously announced the sales of Garden Fresh Gourmet and the company’s refrigerated soup business. Net proceeds from the divestitures will be used to pay down debt.

The company will continue to report the Campbell Fresh segment as discontinued operations when it announces fourth-quarter and full-year fiscal 2019 earnings on Aug. 29, 2019.

About Campbell Soup Company

Campbell (NYSE:CPB) is driven and inspired by our Purpose, "Real food that matters for life's moments." For generations, people have trusted Campbell to provide authentic, flavorful and affordable snacks, soups and simple meals, and beverages. Founded in 1869, Campbell has a heritage of giving back and acting as a good steward of the planet's natural resources. The company is a member of the Standard and Poor's 500 and the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes. For more information, visit www.campbellsoupcompany.com or follow company news on Twitter via @CampbellSoupCo. To learn more about how we make our food and the choices behind the ingredients we use, visit www.whatsinmyfood.com.

About Butterfly Equity

Butterfly Equity ("Butterfly") is a Los Angeles, California based private equity firm specializing in the food sector, spanning the entire food value chain from "seed to fork" via four target verticals: agriculture & aquaculture, food & beverage products, food distribution and foodservice. Butterfly aims to generate attractive investment returns through deep industry specialization, a unique approach to sourcing transactions, and leveraging an operations-focused and technology-driven approach to value creation. For additional information about Butterfly, please visit its website at www.butterflyequity.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains “forward-looking statements” that reflect Campbell’s current expectations about the impact of its future plans and performance on Campbell’s business or financial results. These forward-looking statements rely on a number of assumptions and estimates that could be inaccurate and which are subject to risks and uncertainties. The factors that could cause Campbell’s actual results to vary materially from those anticipated or expressed in any forward-looking statement are described in Campbell’s most recent Form 10-K and subsequent Securities and Exchange Commission filings, and include Campbell’s ability to execute on and realize the expected benefits from the actions it intends to take as a result of its recent strategy and portfolio review; the ability to differentiate its products and protect its category leading positions, especially in soup; the ability to complete and to realize the projected benefits of planned divestitures and other business portfolio changes; Campbell’s indebtedness and ability to pay such indebtedness; and changes in currency exchange rates, tax rates, interest rates, debt and equity markets, inflation rates, economic conditions, law, regulation and other external factors. Campbell disclaims any obligation or intent to update the forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.