Post Holdings working with bankers on possible Lamb Weston deal, sources say

Post Holdings

13/12/2024 19:58

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    By Abigail Summerville and Svea Herbst-Bayliss
       NEW YORK, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Post Holdings  POST.N  is
working with investment bankers to explore a possible
transaction with Lamb Weston Holdings  LW.N , as the frozen
potato products maker faces pressure from an activist investor
to sell itself, two sources familiar with the matter said.
    For packaged goods company Post, which makes Grape Nuts
cereal and Bob Evans mashed potatoes, Lamb Weston has long been
an attractive business that it considered buying in 2015 when
the french-fry maker was still part of Conagra  CAG.N .
    Now Post is again exploring ways to own Lamb Weston and is
consulting with bankers in the tight-knit food industry, said
the sources who insisted on anonymity because the discussions
are private.
    Post has a market value of roughly $7 billion and the
sources said there would be considerable synergies with Lamb
Weston, which has a market value of roughly $10.5 billion, if a
combination were to occur.
    A representative for Post declined to comment while a
representative for Lamb Weston was not immediately available for
comment.
        Two months ago activist investor Jana Partners said in a
securities filing that it built a roughly 5% stake in Lamb
Weston and wants the company to improve operations and capital
allocation and consider selling itself. The news sent the stock
price up roughly 10%. Since January, Lamb Weston's stock price
has dropped 31%.
  
        Jana is working on the investment with holding company
Continental Grain and has identified several industry
executives, including Lamb Weston's former executive chairman
Timothy McLevish, as potential board candidates.
  
        Wall Street analysts have said Cargill, Post, Tyson
Foods  TSN.N  and Kraft Heinz  KHC.O  could be hypothetical
buyers. 
  
        Jana has a history with Lamb Weston and in 2015 pushed
Conagra, which owned the business at the time, to divest it.
Lamb Weston became a publicly listed company in 2016.
  
        Now the activist is pushing Lamb Weston to make changes
or possibly face a board challenge.
  
        Jana has extensive experience in the food sector,
pushing for improvements most recently at pet food manufacturer
Freshpet  FRPT.O , and in earlier campaigns at companies
including Whole Foods, Pinnacle Foods, Safeway and Conagra.
  

 (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Abigail Summerville;
Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
 ((svea.herbst@thomsonreuters.com; +617 233 2138; Reuters
Messaging: svea.herbst.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))