Spam maker Hormel to buy Skippy for $700 million

By Associated Press,
Jan 03, 2013 04:40 PM EST
AP Updated: Thursday, January 3, 8:40 AM

PEANUT BUTTER-BACON SANDWICH: Hormel Foods Corp. said Thursday that it’s buying Skippy, the country’s No. 2 peanut butter, for $700 million from Unilever.

SKIPPY ABROAD: The company, which makes Spam and other cured and deli meats, is hoping the peanut butter can help it expand in other markets. Skippy gets more than a quarter of its sales from international markets. Hormel gets about 4 percent of sales from overseas.

OUT OF THE JAR: In the U.S., Hormel CEO Jeffrey Ettinger said the company will try to “take Skippy out of the jar” and use it in other, less traditional ways.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/news-summary-spam-maker-hormel-to-buy-skippy-for-700-million/2013/01/03/3dd57a4c-55c4-11e2-89de-76c1c54b1418_story.html