Pillsbury Says It Plans to Sell Bumble Bee, Van de Kamp’s

After operating its Bumble Bee canned seafood business for less than a year, Pillsbury Co. said Monday that it has decided to sell the San Diego-based unit, as well as its Van de Kamp’s Frozen Foods business in Long Beach, with the assistance of the New York investment firm Morgan Stanley & Co.

Pillsbury, since it was acquired by Britain’s Grand Metropolitan for $5.7 billion earlier this year, has sold off a number of subsidiaries and fired 550 workers from its Minneapolis headquarters in efforts to streamline operations, Larry Haeg, a Pillsbury spokesman, said.

“Van de Kamp’s and Bumble Bee are both valuable brand names that command prominent positions in their respective market sectors,” said Pillsbury Chairman Ian A. Martin, who also is chief executive of Grand Metropolitan’s U.S. operations. He added: “However, neither Van de Kamp’s nor Bumble Bee is sufficiently linked to the core Pillsbury businesses in brand identity or product fundamentals.”

Bumble Bee Seafoods was bought by Pillsbury in August, 1988, and had sales of about $283 million for the year ended Dec. 31. Van de Kamp’s, which produces frozen fish products, was acquired by Pillsbury in November, 1984, and had sales of about $135 million for the year ended May 31, 1988. But Pillsbury noted in its 1988 annual report that “intense competition has held profit margins below an acceptable level.”

Analysts would not speculate as to who might buy the two businesses but said it is unlikely that a single suitor would be interested in both.

William M. Fallon, vice president of finance at Heinz Pet Products, which until last November was part of Star-Kist Foods, said one large food processor, Heinz, is out of the running because of an antitrust ruling.

Compatibility Questioned

Heinz sought to acquire Bumble Bee Seafoods last year for an estimated $200 million, but the deal was blocked by the Justice Department on antitrust grounds and Bumble Bee was later acquired by Pillsbury.

“When Pillsbury bought both of them it didn’t seem like a good fit, so I’m not surprised they are getting rid of them now,” Fallon said.

Pillsbury Foods, a division of Pillsbury Co., had total sales of about $2.4 billion for the year ended May 31, 1988. Other Pillsbury brand names are Green Giant, Haagen-Dazs, Totino’s, Jeno’s and Hungry Jack.

Grand Met had annual sales of about $17 billion before its takeover of Pillsbury in January.