June 9, 2016

Private equity firm, Platinum Equity, has agreed to acquire JM Swank, a national food ingredient sourcing and distribution company from ConAgra. The deal comes as ConAgra continues to restructure and streamline its operations through a series of divestments and acquisitions.

“The divestiture of JM Swank is the most recent step we have taken to allow us to drive growth by continuing to invest in our product portfolio,” said Sean Connolly, president and chief executive officer of ConAgra Foods in a press statement.

Since assuming the role of CEO of ConAgra in April 2015, Connolly, who had previously been the CEO to Hillshire Brands, has been at the helm of a string of asset sales aimed at positioning ConAgra to better focus on its core brands, including Chef Boyardee, Hebrew National, and Hunt’s, according to The Middle Market.

Only three months after accepting the position of chief executive officer at ConAgra, Sean Connolly announced in June that the group was seeking a buyer for its private label unit after being pressured by activist investor Jana Partners, who criticized ConAgra’s management of the division.

By November 2015, ConAgra agreed to sell its private-label unit to Illinois-based TreeHouse Foods Inc. for $2.7 billion in a deal that would create the largest U.S. maker of store-brand foods. The deal will expand TreeHouse’s operations by 50 manufacturing facilities and 16,000 employees, and will more than double the company’s annual sales to nearly $7 billion.

Only weeks later, ConAgra announced plans to split its business into two independent pure-play companies by the fall of 2016. The first company will continue to include ConAgra Foods’ diversified portfolio of brands and will be renamed Conagra Brands Inc., while the second company will operate the group’s frozen potato business consisting of frozen potato, sweet potato, appetizer, and other vegetable products under the name Lamb Weston.

“We carefully considered a variety of strategic alternatives, and believe that the separation of our Lamb Weston specialty potato business from our consumer brands business is the best way to drive shareholder value,” said Connolly. “The separation will enable each company to sharpen its strategic focus and provide flexibility to capitalize on the unique growth opportunities in its respective market. Shareholders will gain direct exposure to more focused consumer and commercial foods businesses, each with distinct customer bases and investment profiles.”

Most recently, at the end of May, ConAgra took the step to sell Spicetec Flavors & Seasonings to Switzerland’s Givaudan for $340 million as it focuses on its grocery brands and its growing e-commerce presence, according to Food Dive, which points out that although the group has announced it will label GMOs and has developed organic Hunt’s tomatoes, its brands remain second-tier to some of its rival’s.