Del Monte Adds Canine Confectionary

Del Monte(DLM) agreed to pay $580 million for Kraft's(KFT) Milk-Bone operations, moving to appease its canine constituency after acquiring Meow Mix two weeks ago.

Other assets in Del Monte's pet food portfolio are Kibbles 'n Bits, Snausages and Pup-Peroni.

Milk-Bone did $180 million in revenue during calendar 2005, the company said. Del Monte expects the acquisition to be neutral to slightly accretive to 2007 earnings before integration costs, then to be "meaningfully accretive" in 2008. The company said Milk-Bone's margins are well above its current overall average.

The acquisition will be financed with senior financing that should be paid down via cash flow over three years.

"Milk-Bone, with its strong brand position in the fast-growing and dynamic pet snacks category, will significantly strengthen our overall competitiveness in the pet business," Del Monte said. "The acquisition builds on the momentum generated with our recently announced agreements to acquire Meow Mix and divest Del Monte's private label soup and infant feeding businesses, resulting in a greater branded focus of the entire portfolio."

Del Monte closed at $11.07 Wednesday.

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