Campbell’s completes $2.7B acquisition of Rao’s sauce owner Sovos Brands

Campbell Soup Co. completed the previously announced acquisition of Rao’s Homemade owner Sovos Brands for $23 per share in an all-cash transaction, which represents a total enterprise value of approximately $2.7 billion, the Camden-based packaged food maker said Tuesday.

Rao’s Homemade’s U.S. base in in Montclair.

“This important milestone in Campbell’s history adds several market-leading and scaled premium brands to our company,” Campbell’s CEO and President Mark Clouse said. “It accelerates Campbell’s successful strategy and provides a substantial runway for sustained profitable growth. An enhanced Meals & Beverages division paired with our differentiated Snacks division creates an advantaged portfolio that makes Campbell one of the most dependable and growth-oriented large capitalization value names in food.”

Campbell’s formed a new business unit within the Meals & Beverages division called Distinctive Brands to include Sovos Brands, which consists of pasta sauces, dry pasta, soups, frozen pizza and yogurts.

Distinctive Brands will be led by Risa Cretella, senior vice president and general manager, and will have dedicated teams supported by Campbell’s scaled capabilities. Cretella most recently served as chief sales officer at Sovos Brands. She will report to Mick Beekhuizen, Campbell’s executive vice president and president, Meals & Beverages.

“We’re excited to welcome the talented Sovos team to Campbell,” Beekhuizen said. “Risa is an accomplished leader with a strong record of growth and impact at Sovos, which makes her the right person to lead the Distinctive Brands business unit and build upon the trajectory and incredible momentum of these premium brands. Our Distinctive Brands business unit will fuel the transformation of our Meals & Beverages categories to accelerate growth.”