Canada’s Competition Bureau is looking to bar B&G Foods’ proposed sale of its Green Giant and Le Sieur vegetable business to Nortera Foods.
The watchdog said yesterday (19 August) that the transaction is “likely to lead to higher prices, fewer choices and less competition in the wholesale grocery supply.”
The bureau has asked the Competition Tribunal to block the deal. It has also sought an interim order to stop the companies from closing the transaction before the tribunal reaches a decision.
US-based B&G Foods agreed in October to sell assets tied to the Green Giant and Le Sieur frozen and shelf-stable vegetable lines in Canada to Nortera.
Nortera sells canned and frozen vegetables in Canada under brands including Del Monte and Arctic Gardens.
According to the bureau, Nortera is already the country’s “dominant processor of certain canned and frozen vegetables” and the transaction would combine it with its “only major national brand competitor”.
Jeanne Pratt, the bureau's interim commissioner of competition, added: “We are taking action to preserve competition so that Canadians don't pay more for basic necessities like canned and frozen vegetables.”
The bureau said Nortera already processes most of B&G’s vegetable products in Canada but B&G still operates as an independent supplier competing for retailer business.
Alternative suppliers, including foreign ones, are unlikely to offset the loss of competition, the regulator argues, adding barriers to entry are high because of the investment needed in processing, access to vegetables and brand recognition.
In response, Nortera said it “continues to believe that the proposed transaction is in Canada’s best interests”, insisting it would support domestic vegetable production and processing.
The company said it is reviewing the bureau’s position and remains in discussions with B&G, which said it was “disappointed” by the watchdog’s move.
B&G added it is evaluating “multiple options, including potential legal, regulatory and operational alternatives”.#
In November 2023, B&G sold the US shelf-stable Green Giant vegetable line to Seneca Foods, while retaining ownership of the Green Giant trademarks and licensing the brand to Seneca.
The proposed deal in Canada is part of B&G’s broader effort to offload assets and reduce debt.
In March, the company sold the Green Giant US frozen business to Seneca in a deal that included a plant in Arizona, inventory and brand assets, alongside a supply agreement tied to B&G’s facility in Irapuato in Mexico.
In August last year, B&G sold the US Le Sueur shelf-stable vegetable line - spelt differently from Canada’s Le Sieur - to McCall Farms.
