P&G; Solicits Bids for Crisco, Jif Brands

Procter & Gamble Co. is soliciting bids for its Crisco shortening and Jif peanut butter brands as the largest U.S. maker of household products sheds slow-growing food businesses. The maker of Tide detergent and Pantene shampoo will consider swapping the product lines for other businesses or putting them in a joint venture, Procter & Gamble said. Crisco has about $350 million in annual sales and Jif has $300 million, a spokeswoman said. Jif might be sold for an amount equal to its sales, and Crisco for less than its annual sales figure, said Jeffrey Kanter, food industry analyst at Prudential Securities. Chief Executive A.G. Lafley has been divesting food and beverage businesses, whose sales fell 12% in the six months ended Dec. 31. In February, he agreed to put Pringles chips and Sunny Delight juices in a joint venture with Coca-Cola Co. that is headed by a Coca-Cola executive. Shares of Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble rose 92 cents to close at $57.56 on the New York Stock Exchange. Lafley has said he is reviewing all of Procter & Gamble’s 300 lines and wants to focus on brands with more than $1 billion in annual sales, including Tide, Pantene, Bounty paper towels and Pampers diapers.