Campbell Soup To Buy Pacific Foods For $700 Mln.

(RTTNews) - Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) Thursday said it agreed to buy Pacific Foods for $700 million in cash.

Founded in 1987, Pacific Foods makes organic broth and soup and also produces shelf-stable plant-based beverages and other meals and sides. Pacific Foods generated about $218 million in sales over 12-month period as of May 31, 2017.

Campbell said it intends to invest in the Pacific Foods business to drive growth. Pacific Foods will become part of Campbell's Americas Simple Meals and Beverages division.

Organic food is a more than $11 billion category in the U.S., which grew at a compound annual growth rate of 15.3 percent over the past four years.

Campbell's CEO Denise Morrison said, "This acquisition is consistent with our Purpose, 'Real food that matters for life's moments.' Pacific is an authentic brand with a loyal consumer following. The acquisition allows us to expand into faster-growing spaces such as organic and functional food."

The acquisition indicates Campbell's latest effort to expand its product portfolio to include organic food products as more and more customers now prefer and have switched towards healthier and fresher organic foods.