Bestfoods Finalizes Arisco Purchase

As promised on Monday, Bestfoods yesterday completed the transactions necessary to become 100% owner of Arisco Produtos Alimenticios S.A., a privately-held food company in Brazil. (See earlier article).

Bestfoods paid $490 million for Arisco, which has debt of approximately $262 million.

Arisco's product line includes its flagship Arisco brand of soups, seasonings, bouillons, mayonnaise, salad dressings, tomato products, ketchup, desserts, and other products, which is the fifth largest selling food brand in Brazil. Other strong regional brands include Beira Alta and Palmeiron.

"The fit of Arisco's brands and products with Bestfoods' existing worldwide core businesses is ideal. About 28% of the business is in savory products, which complement Bestfoods' Knorr brand business, and 21% is in dressings and related products," said Bestfoods chairman and CEO, C. R. Shoemate.

Bestfoods, headquartered in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, is among the largest U.S. food companies, with sales of $8.6 billion in 1999. The company's global Knorr brand comprises one of the world's most extensive lines of products. Bestfoods currently has operations in more than 60 countries and products marketed in 110 countries.

Edited by Pam Ahlberg