By Lauren Hirsch and Greg Roumeliotis
(Reuters) - French food group Bonduelle SCA (PA:BOND) is in discussions to team up with Centerview Partners in a bid to acquire General Mills Inc's (N:GIS) Green Giant frozen and canned vegetable business, according to people familiar with the matter.
Joining with the private equity arm of investment bank Centerview would give Bonduelle, which has a market capitalisation of 796 million euros ($861 million), more capital and additional expertise in its pursuit of Green Giant.
The potential consortium of Bonduelle and Centerview would compete against other bidders for the asset, and there is no certainty that Bonduelle's offer would prevail, the people said on Monday.
The sources asked not to be identified because details of the sale process are confidential. General Mills and Centerview declined to comment. Bonduelle could not be immediately reached for comment.
Minneapolis-based General Gillis hired investment bank Rothschild to explore a sale of Green Giant, Reuters reported in March. Green Giant has approximately $700 million in annual revenue, sources told Reuters at the time.
Green Giant, whose mascot is the Jolly Green Giant, makes more than 160 different products, including steamed and canned vegetables, corn on the cob, chips and hummus.
Green Giant has struggled as consumer preferences shift away from sauced varieties towards more plain vegetables, Jeff Harmening, chief operating officer at General Mills, told investors and analysts at the company's fiscal 2016 investor day last week.
Based in Villeneuve d'Ascq, France, Bonduelle owns manufacturing facilities in Canada that produce canned goods for Green Giant. Bonduelle Chief Executive Christophe Bonduelle told French newspaper Les Echos in 2010 the company would be interested in acquiring Green Giant but not at any cost.
Green Giant would not be the Bonduelle's first North American acquisition. It has also purchased certain vegetable operations from Allens, a U.S.-based canned and frozen vegetable company, and Canadian vegetable companies Omstead Foods, Family Tradition Foods and Aliments Carrière.