New Jersey-based Campbell Soup Company inked a definitive agreement with private equity firm CVC Capital Partners for the sale of its European simple meals business. CVC would be purchasing Canpbell's national brands of simple meals, soups and sauces for EUR 400 million. The deal would include the Liebig and Royco brands in France, Erasco in Germany, Bla Band in Sweden and the Devos Lemmens and Royco brands in Belgium. Campbell's four plants located in Belgium, France, Germany and Sweden would also be bought by CVC.

The sale agreement, however, would not include the Kelsen Group in Denmark, which was also recently acquired by Campbell. Proceeds from the sale would be used by the food company to pay a portion of its debt and for other general business purposes.

Campbell President and Chief Executive Officer Denise Morrison said the sale was a strategic choice for the company. "We are in the process of reshaping our portfolio to change Campbell's future growth trajectory. As part of this effort, we will be focusing our investments, resources and talent on building the brands that we believe we can grow around the world, strengthening our core and expanding our business in faster-growing geographies and categories," Morrison said.