PepsiCo would be better off selling its Quaker Foods North America unit and using the proceeds to bolster parts of the business where the company has scale and can have a more meaningful impact on financials, writes The Deal’s Richard Collings. The Quaker division — which generates 4% of PepsiCo’s revenues — includes the Quaker oatmeal and granola bars, as well as non-Quaker branded products such as Aunt Jemima mixes and syrups, Rice-A-Roni side dishes and Cap’n Crunch and Life cereals. For its most recent fiscal year, the division posted $621 million in operating profit, a slight increase compared to the $617 million for the same period a year prior, but a decline from the $695 million generated in 2012. Richard writes that in lieu of a sale of the entire Quaker division, PepsiCo could at the minimum sell Aunt Jemima and Rice-A-Roni. It could then find a partner — Post Holdings, perhaps — giving it the license to sell Quaker-branded cereals and the Life and Cap’n Crunch brands. Proceeds from a divestiture could go towards acquisitions. PepsiCo could have its own line of milk and plant-based beverages if it were to acquire WhiteWave Foods Co. Such a move would position PepsiCo in the rapidly growing areas of natural and organic foods, as well as plant-based beverages including almond milk, writes Richard.
Subscribe to TheStreetTV on YouTube:
For more content from TheStreet visit:
Check out all our videos:
Follow TheStreet on Twitter:
Like TheStreet on Facebook:
Follow TheStreet on LinkedIn:
Follow TheStreet on Google+:
source
