ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, March 13, 1996 TAG: 9603140032
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHICAGO
Quaker Oats Co. put its North American frozen foods business, including Aunt Jemima and Celeste pizza products, up for sale Tuesday as it focuses on revitalizing its troubled Snapple beverage line.
The business, whose Aunt Jemima brand line holds a leading position the frozen-breakfast market, is profitable but analysts said its market share has slipped. Quaker said it wanted to sell the business to concentrate on its beverage and cereal lines.
``Though frozen foods is a good business, it is not a core business for the Quaker Oats Co.,'' Quaker chairman and chief executive William D. Smithburg said in a statement.
Quaker said it will keep its Aunt Jemima syrup, corn products and pancake mix operations.
The frozen-food operations had $175 million in sales last year - or 2.5 percent of Quaker's overall sales of $6.37 billion - with Aunt Jemima contributing 55 percent. But there were signs that its growth might be slowing.
Quaker in the past 18 months has been shedding other businesses as it tries to shore up its poorly selling Snapple tea and juice lines. The company acquired Snapple in November 1994 for $1.7 billion - a price most analysts considered too high.
- Associated Press
LENGTH: Short : 35 linesby CNB