EUROPE: Mondelez quiet on French confectionery unit sale rumours | Progresiv

Mondelez International has declined to comment on a report in France it is looking to offload its confectionery division in the country.

According to French business publication Challenges, the US multinational has put up for sale a business unit that includes the Carambar and Krema brands.

There are two production sites for confectionery in France- in Marcq-en-Baroel and in Saint-Genest which the publication said deliver an annual turnover of 150 million euros. The report noted the move was part of its plan for "aggressive cost reduction" and pointed to recent moves the Oreo maker has made including the sale of its coffee brand Carte Noire to Lavazza. A spokesperson for Mondelez's European division said he "could not comment on rumours or speculation" when approached by just-food.

Earlier this month, Mondelez was reported said to be planning to sell its cheese and grocery division in Europe. Asked to confirm whether Mondelez was considering selling the assets and had hired bankers to weigh up a move, a spokesperson told just-food: "Cheese and grocery is a good business, with solid margins and cash flow, and it helps to provide scale in some markets. The team is executing well, having posted solid growth in the second quarter and year-to-date.  Our Philadelphia brand, for example, is up high-single digits year-to-date through June.  With respect to market rumours, however, I’m not going to get into hypotheticals on specific assets." (www.just-food.com)