FDBusiness.com

TreeHouse Foods, the US-based food and beverage group, has completed the sale of the McCann’s Irish Oatmeal brand to B&G Foods for $32 million, subject to customary closing and post-closing adjustments. The McCann’s Irish Oatmeal brand generated sales of approximately $13 million in 2017. The transaction is expected to have a negligible impact on TreeHouse’s 2018 earnings.

“McCann’s Irish Oatmeal is a wonderful brand that has great opportunity to flourish under B&G Foods’ branded food umbrella,” says Steve Oakland, CEO and President of TreeHouse Foods. “The divestiture supports our efforts to simplify and streamline our business and concentrate our efforts on private label categories that support our customers’ corporate brand initiatives. We expect proceeds from the transaction will be used to pay down debt.”

The story of McCann’s Irish Oatmeal dates back to 1800 when John McCann built a mill in County Meath in Ireland. In the early part of the 20th century, exports of McCann’s Irish Oatmeal greatly increased, particularly to the United States and Canada. In 1964, Odlums Group acquired John McCann’s business and transferred production to its own oatmeal mill, which had been in operation since 1910. TreeHouse Foods acquired the McCann’s Irish Oatmeal brand through its purchase of Sturm Foods in 2010.