According to Food Dive, Canada’s Competition Bureau has asked the Competition Tribunal to block B&G Foods’ sale of its Canadian Green Giant and Le Sueur brands to Nortera Foods, citing risks of higher prices, fewer choices, and reduced competition.
Regulator cites market concentration concerns
The Competition Bureau stated that Nortera Foods is already Canada’s dominant processor of certain canned and frozen vegetables, including the Del Monte and Arctic Gardens brands. The proposed transaction would combine Del Monte with Green Giant — “its only major national brand competitor.” This would “harm competition in an already highly concentrated market,” the regulator said in a statement.
The Bureau also sought to prevent B&G and Nortera from closing the deal until the Tribunal issues a formal decision. According to the report, the transaction would eliminate head-to-head national-brand rivalry in key vegetable categories, intensifying consolidation in a sector where few national alternatives remain.
B&G Foods, headquartered in New Jersey, confirmed it acknowledged the Bureau’s position but maintained that evidence “supports that this transaction is in the best interests of all interested stakeholders, including the Canadian consumer.”
Portfolio restructuring timeline and leadership shift
B&G announced the Green Giant Canada sale to Nortera Foods last October and said it expected the deal to close in the second quarter of 2026. That timeline now faces regulatory delay. The company previously sold the Green Giant U.S. shelf-stable vegetable product line to Seneca Foods in November 2023 and the Le Sueur U.S. shelf-stable vegetable product line to McCall Farms in August 2025.
This divestiture strategy reflects B&G’s broader effort to slim down its portfolio and focus on core areas — specifically moving away from noncore businesses such as vegetables and snacks. Last week, the company named board member Robert Mills as its new CEO, succeeding Casey Keller, who had served as CEO since June 2021.
B&G stated it remains “in discussions with Nortera and we are evaluating multiple options, including potential legal, regulatory and operational alternatives.”
Source: Food Dive
Compiled from international media by the SCI.AI editorial team.
