CAMDEN, N.J. — Campbell Soup Co. has agreed to acquire Denmark-based baked snacks producer Kelsen Group A/S from private equity firm Maj Invest and other investors.
“We are delighted to welcome the Kelsen team to Campbell and to add Kelsen’s distinctive brands to Campbell’s outstanding portfolio of baked snacks, including our Pepperidge Farm cookies and crackers in North America and Arnott’s biscuits in Australia,” said Denise Morrison, president and chief executive officer. “Kelsen will give Campbell a solid platform for growth in baked snacks in China and for the expansion of our international footprint.”
Kelsen products are sold in 85 countries around the world and include the Kjeldsens and Royal Dansk brands. It has distribution in Asia, South America, the Middle East, Africa and the United States. The company exports Danish butter cookies to China, and sales in China have grown at a compound rate exceeding 28% during the last three years.
Terms of the transaction were not released, and the company expects the acquisition to be mostly accretive beginning in 2014. Campbell will run Kelsen as a standalone business headquartered in Denmark.