Campbell Soup To Buy Garden Fresh Gourmet For $231 Million - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - World's largest soup maker Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) agreed Tuesday to acquire the assets and business of Garden Fresh Gourmet for $231 million. The deal will extend Campbell's presence in faster-growing packaged fresh category, and also provide it with another growth engine.

Garden Fresh Gourmet is the No. 1 branded refrigerated salsa in the U.S. and also makes hummus, dips and tortilla chips. It generated $100 million in net sales for the year ended December 31, 2014.

Garden Fresh Gourmet will become part of the Campbell Fresh division (formerly called Packaged Fresh), leveraging the Bolthouse Farms refrigerated fresh platform. With the addition of Garden Fresh Gourmet, the Campbell Fresh division will account for more than $1 billion in annual net sales.

Garden Fresh Gourmet will continue to operate out of Ferndale, and will be led by Todd Putman, General Manager-Garden Fresh, within the Campbell Fresh division.

Campbell plans to fund the acquisition with commercial paper, and expects the deal not to affect its previously announced fiscal 2015 guidance and to be slightly accretive beginning in fiscal 2016.

The closing of the deal, which is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, is expected in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015.