Planters Peanuts
Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Kraft Heinz is approaching an agreement to sell its Planters brand for about $ 3 billion to Spam owner Hormel, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
Hormel’s share rose more than 6% in the report, but recently rose by about 3.8%. Shares of Kraft Heinz turned positive, rising less than 1%.
Referring to people familiar with the matter, the newspaper said the deal could be announced as early as next week if the talks do not fall apart.
As part of Kraft Heinz’s multi-year effort, executives told investors in September that they had changed from viewing the portfolio as a range of products to how it could meet different consumer needs. The company is also decorating less popular products from its range and sold part of its cheese industry to Lactalis for $ 3.2 billion.
Planters is best known for its nuts and snack mixes and its mascot, Mr. Peanut. In the last few years, the brand’s biggest splash has come from an advertising campaign last year that Mr. Killed Peanut and raised him as a baby in his Super Bowl spot. The campaign opened with a New Yorker cartoon and a Saturday Night Live cold. This year, the brand is giving away the $ 5 million it would have spent on advertising during the big game.
Kraft Heinz has owned Planters through a series of mergers. Kraft’s acquisition of Nabisco Brands in 2000 brought the nut brand into its portfolio, when Kraft merged into a megadeal with Heinz in 2015.
Kraft Heinz and Hormel declined to comment.
Kraft Heinz’s share has risen more than 14% over the past year, bringing the market value to $ 40.82 billion. Hormel’s share has a market value of $ 26.45 billion, after rising by almost 6% over the past 12 months.
Read more about the Planters sale here.