Kraft Foods sells Estrella and Maarud chips business

Kraft Foods has sold its salted snacks business in Scandinavia and the Baltic states to a Norwegian private equity fund, it was announced today (6 August). Herkules Private Equity Fund has struck a deal to buy the business, which includes three production facilities and brands like Maarud and Estrella.
The private equity group said salted snacks was not a "key category" for Kraft. Managing partner Gert Munthe said: "We see great potential in releasing the power of the brands Maarud and Estrella and the many highly-skilled employees in the company." Herkules will take on production sites in Norway, Sweden and Lithuania as part of a business that is the number one potato chip maker in those countries and number 2 in Denmark, Finland, Estonia and Latvia.