- It looks like the ubiquitous Starbucks label will become even more so, as the Java Giant signed a deal with Sysco Corp. to distribute its products to “non contracted” customers throughout the US. These customers include restaurants, hotels, airlines and colleges, according to a company statement; the potential is for thousands of venues not selling Starbucks to suddenly be selling its coffee beans and beverages.
- Energizer Holdings Corp. announced that it will spend $930 million in cash to acquire Schick-Wilkinson Sword, the world’s number two brand of razors, from Pfizer Inc. The move helps Energizer diversify out of the battery business while still building on an existing distribution system.
- As it continues to divest itself of non-core businesses and pay off its debt, Chiquita Brands International has sold its LA-based Progressive Produce Corp., which specializes in potatoes and onions, to a buyout group led by Progressive’s management The cost of the buyout: about $7 million in cash.
- French retailer Carrefour has sold 59 of its units in Spain to a consortium of French financial institutions for the equivalent of about $259 million (US). Carrefour will continue to operate the stores, which had to be divested under the terms of the company’s 1999 merger with Promodes.
