George Weston Ltd has insisted that it will adopt a “patient and prudent” approach to investing the proceeds of recent divestitures as it looks to drive long-term growth at the business.
The Canadian food manufacturer and retailer has built up a sizeable war chest by selling off various divisions within its business, including the 2008 sale of Neilson dairy unit to Saputo for C$465m and a $921m gain from the sale of its US bakeries business to Grupo Bimbo last year.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Access deeper industry intelligence
Experience unmatched clarity with a single platform that combines unique data, AI, and human expertise.
Speculation has focused on the possibility that the group could use its cash stockpile to take its supermarket arm Loblaw private, expand its grocery operations or paying a special dividend to shareholders.
However, speaking during a conference call with analysts, George Weston president and chairman Galen Weston Sr insisted that the company was in no “rush” to embark on a spending spree.
“George Weston continues to assess its strategic options relative to the development of its substantial cash and short-term investments and I would like to reiterate that we will be patient and prudent,” he commented.
Weston revealed that the company has reviewed “half a dozen” investment opportunities seriously. However, all of these have either “been sold at enormous prices” or failed to deliver in terms of synergies, he added.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalData“We have looked at a lot of things, but we have not been excited by any of them,” Weston revealed.
Nevertheless, Weston added that he expected “opportunities of substance” to materialise in the next 12 to 18 months.
“We’re very flexible in terms of the kind of things that we might want to buy — that we could add to our business — and I think that we’d like to feel that all options are still open to us,” he commented.
Last week, the company said it planned to buy back 6.5m outstanding shares.
