U.S. Foodservice Not for Sale, Yet
By George Anderson
Royal Ahold’s news chief executive officer, Anders Moberg, says the company has no immediate plans to sell U.S. Foodservice.
According to a report in The Baltimore Sun, Mr. Moberg told attendees at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting, “To sell it off today would create a massive destruction of shareholder value.”
Priority number one for Ahold is refocusing its business on retail grocery. The company plans to handle U.S. Foodservice as a business separate from its retail store operations. It is also exiting markets in Asia and South America.
Mr. Moberg said, “We have tried to be everything to everybody. That is expensive.”
Moderator’s Comment: Will Ahold be able to get U.S. Foodservice turned around? Do you expect the division to be sold?
The general consensus in the reports we’ve seen is U.S. Foodservice will take around two years to straighten out. Once that happens, presumably Ahold sells
the division for a price that will make its shareholders happy.
We’ll wait to see if the straightening out portion of the plan works out. From what we’ve heard, that will be easier said than done. Either way, success
or not, Ahold sells U.S. Foodservice. [George
Anderson – Moderator]