B&G will retain the brand trademarks, the Green Giant frozen and Canadian businesses, and the Le Sueur product line.

B&G Foods Inc. has sold the Green Giant shelf-stable vegetable product line to Seneca Foods Corp., according to a company release. The transaction does not include Green Giant frozen, Green Giant Canada or Le Sueur products, and B&G will retain ownership of the Green Giant trademarks, licensing the Green Giant brand name to Seneca.

Casey Keller, president and CEO of B&G, said the shelf-stable product line was sold in alignment with the company’s strategy to divest product lines that are not in the core of B&G’s long-term strategy, as well as its desire to reduce long-term debt. Seneca is the longtime primary co-manufacturer for the line, and thus the “right owner” for it, he added.

Seneca Foods president and CEO Paul Palmby shared similar sentiments in his company’s statement on the deal, saying: “Having co-manufactured much of this product for B&G Foods for many years, we have long admired the strength of the brand in the market and look forward to its continued success.”

Divestiture of the shelf-stable product line will allow B&G to focus on the frozen, Canadian and Le Sueur brands, without losing any of the benefits of retaining the “power of the iconic Green Giant brand,” Keller said.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the announcement stated that B&G intends to use the net proceeds from the sale to repay long-term debt.  Source: Food Processing News