San Francisco Group Buys Pillsbury’s Van de Kamp’s

Pillsbury Co. has agreed to sell its Van de Kamp’s seafood and frozen dessert businesses to a San Francisco investment group for $190 million in cash, it was announced Wednesday.

The sale to Dartford Partnership is part of parent company Grand Metropolitan’s efforts to shed peripheral businesses.

Van de Kamp’s is one of the largest producers of frozen seafood in the U.S. Its frozen dessert business includes Pet-Ritz cream pies and cobblers, Oronoque pie shells and private-label whipped topping.

“Van de Kamp’s is a fine performer in its category, but not an appropriate fit in our portfolio of core brands,” said Paul S. Walsh, chief executive of Pillsbury.

Minneapolis-based Pillsbury is one of the nation’s largest food companies, with brands such as Progresso, Hungry Jack, Haagen-Dazs and Green Giant.

Combined sales for the two businesses to be sold were about $150 million in the last fiscal year, Grand Met said.

Van de Kamp’s had 17.8% of the $728.8-million U.S. frozen seafood market last year, ranking second behind Gorton’s, which had 18.5%, said Information Resources Inc. Van de Kamp’s market share rose 0.3% points last year.

Dartford Partnership focuses on consumer food and beverage acquisitions. It owns such brands as New Age Beverages and a Pepsi-Cola franchise in South Africa.

Grand Met acquired the two frozen-food businesses earlier this year when it purchased Pet Inc. for $2.6 billion.

At the time, analysts said Grand Met would likely sell some Pet divisions to help pay for the acquisition.

While Pillsbury “very much wants to stay in the food business, this is a declining category,” said Colin Davies, a food analyst with Goldman Sachs International.

The sale may be subject to regulatory approval, Grand Met said.