Mr. Peanut has a new home.
Kraft Heinz announced Thursday it has agreed to sell its legacy nuts business to Minnesota-based Hormel Foods for $3.35 billion.
The sale, expected to close in the first half of this year, includes most products under the Planters brand, including single variety and mixed nuts, trail mix, Cheez Balls, Cheez Curls and Nut-rition products. It also includes the Corn Nuts brand.
Kraft Heinz, co-headquartered in Chicago and Pittsburgh, has struggled to keep up with shifting consumer tastes and previously said it planned to sell some brands to focus on its most promising growth areas.
More Top Picks Best Quiet Pet Water Fountains For Bedrooms
“This is another momentous step in our rapid transformation of Kraft Heinz,” CEO Miguel Patricio said in a news release. “It will enable us to sharpen our focus on areas with greater growth prospects and competitive advantage for our powerhouse brands.”
Planters, founded in 1906 in Wilkes-Barre, Penn., became part of Kraft in 2000, when the company bought Nabisco Brands. Kraft and Heinz merged in 2015.
The nuts business contributed about $1.1 billion to Kraft Heinz’s sales, primarily in the U.S., during its 2020 fiscal year that ended Dec. 26. The packaged foods company, which benefited from pandemic eating habits as more people stayed home and turned to comfort foods, on Thursday reported $26.2 billion in revenue for the year and $356 million in profit.
For Hormel, the acquisition of Planters helps expand the company’s presence in the growing snacking space. Hormel owns Skippy and Justin’s nut butters as well Columbus, Herdez and Wholly, among other brands.
The transaction includes Kraft Heinz’s Corn Nuts plant in Fresno, Calif., and its Planters production facilities in Fort Smith, Ark., and Suffolk, Va. The facilities and their employees will continue to operate normally, the company said.
Planters made news recently when it announced that instead of paying for a Super Bowl ad it will give $5 million to reward people and businesses that showed “little acts of extraordinary substance” during the pandemic. It was among several brands that used the Super Bowl marketing opportunity to encourage charitable giving.