ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, May 2, 1996 TAG: 9605020040
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ORRVILLE, OHIO
The J.M. Smucker Co. said Wednesday it has scrapped plans to sell its Mrs. Smith's frozen pie business to ConAgra Inc. in favor of a deal with Flowers Industries Inc.
Terms of the sale to Flowers, of Thomasville, Ga., were not disclosed. Flowers, which has operations in Bedford and Roanoke, makes bakery items under the brands Nature's Own, Cobblestone Mill and White Wheat.
Smucker in March said it would sell the business to Omaha, Neb.-based ConAgra for an undisclosed price. It didn't say why the deal was terminated. A call to Smucker was not immediately returned Wednesday.
Smucker and Flowers hope to close their deal by the end of May.
The pie business has been seen as a drag on Smucker's finances. Analysts have said Smucker got into the frozen pie business just as the growth of supermarket bakeries were cutting into sales.
Smucker bought Mrs. Smith's from Kellogg Co. in 1994 for about $80 million.
- Associated Press
LENGTH: Short : 30 linesby CNB