Aurora Foods and Van de Kamp's to Merge

Dartford Partnership, a San Francisco investment firm that specializes in the food and beverage industries, has announced that Aurora Foods Inc. and Van de Kamp's, Inc. have agreed to merge. The new joint entity will operate under the "Aurora Foods Inc." name and will be headed by Ian R. Wilson, who will become chairman and CEO.

Aurora Foods, Inc. markets branded breakfast and other grocery products in the United States. Since 1996, Aurora has acquired Mrs. Butterworth's syrup and pancake mix business from Unilever, the Log Cabin syrup business from Kraft, and the Duncan Hines baking mix business from Proctor & Gamble.

Van de Kamp's, Inc. produces and markets frozen foods in the United States. The company's primary product lines are frozen seafood, frozen pizza and frozen breakfast products. Since September 1995, Van de Kamp's has acquired the Van de Kamp's frozen seafood business from Pillsbury, Mrs. Paul's frozen food business from Campbell Soup, and the Celeste brand of frozen pizza and Aunt Jemima brand of frozen breakfast products from Quaker Oats.

Ian R. Wilson stated, "What makes this transaction so appealing is that all of the brands acquired by both companies have experienced strong unit volume growth since the time of its acquisition, which is a further testament to the quality of both management teams and their strategic focus."

Edited by Pam Ahlberg