B&G Foods has struck a deal to sell its Green Giant and Le Sieur brands of frozen and shelf-stable vegetable product lines in Canada to Nortera Foods.
Financial terms of the deal remain undisclosed.
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Nortera has been the exclusive manufacturer of the two brands for US-based B&G Foods in Canada for three decades.
Hugo Boisvert, CEO of Nortera, said in a statement: “With decades of expertise as the trusted manufacturing partner behind the Green Giant and Le Sieur brands in Canada, this acquisition ensures that these iconic brands, long produced in Canada, are now also locally owned.”
Production of the brands will continue at Nortera’s facilities in Tecumseh, Ontario; Lethbridge, Alberta; and Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu, Quebec.
The Canadian vegetable processor said the acquisition will “complement” its existing portfolio, including brands like Arctic Gardens and Del Monte.
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By GlobalDataB&G Foods said in a separate statement that it will allocate the sale proceeds toward paying down “long-term” debt.
The transaction is anticipated to be finalised in either the fourth quarter or first quarter of next year, subject to regulatory approval in Canada.
B&G Foods has been selling off the Green Giant brand in other jurisdictions. It sold the US shelf-stable vegetable line to Seneca Foods in November 2023 and the Le Sueur US shelf-stable vegetable option to McCall Farms in August.
The company said it continues to explore sale options for its Green Giant US frozen vegetable product line.
Casey Keller, the president and CEO of B&G Foods, said: “Our decision to sell the Green Giant and Le Sieur brands in Canada is another milestone in our ongoing effort to divest brands and product lines that are non-core to B&G Foods’ long-term strategy to sharpen our focus and reduce long-term debt.
“Green Giant is a well-recognised and trusted brand in Canada.”
In May, the company sold its Don Pepino and Sclafani sauces and canned tomatoes brands to Violet Foods, a portfolio company of Aphora Equity Partners.
As a result of the two divestitures, the company cut full-year group sales, EBITDA and EPS guidance for the second time in fiscal 2025.
Sales are now expected in the range of $1.83-1.88bn, compared to the revised $1.86-1.91bn outlook provide in May at the first-quarter results stage. It was originally $1.89-1.95bn.
Adjusted EBITDA is projected at $273-283m, from $289-290m and $290-300m, respectively.
For adjusted diluted ESP, the new outlook is $0.50-60 from $0.55-0.65 and $0.65-0.75.
“We expect additional divestitures in the future to further focus the portfolio and reduce leverage,” CEO Keller told analysts in August as he discussed the second-quarter results, which included a 4.2% decline in “base” business sales.
Nortera operates 13 plants across Canada and the US, processing and marketing more than 400,000 tonnes of vegetables annually. It employs over 3,000 people across the region.
The company recently announced a C$28m ($20m) investment to expand capacity at its Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu facility, which focuses on canning vegetables and legumes and producing soups and sauces.
This upgrade will increase the site’s output from six million to 10.6 million case-equivalents.
As part of this expansion, Nortera will close its Saint-Césaire plant, approximately 60km south of Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu, by late January 2026.
The closure will result in around 100 job losses at Saint-Césaire but create 70 permanent positions at the expanded facility.
