Campbell’s $3 bln Rao’s deal could use long simmer

Sovos Brands

07/08/2023 17:47

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.  The opinions
expressed are his own.)
    By Robert Cyran
       NEW YORK, Aug 7 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The tomato
soup maker is spooning out too much for the upscale pasta
sauce’s owner, Sovos. Implied returns barely cover the cost of
capital, and the rationale is heavily salted with corporate
gibberish. Long-running food trends, however, should help it
taste better in time.
    Full view will be published shortly.
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    CONTEXT NEWS 
    Campbell Soup said on Aug. 7 that it had agreed to buy Sovos
Brands, the owner of Rao’s sauces, for $2.7 billion, including
debt.
    Under the terms of the deal, Campbell’s will pay $23 a share
for Sovos, a 28% premium to where they closed on Aug. 4.

 (Editing by Jeffrey Goldfarb and Oliver Taslic)
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