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Procter & Gamble has retained Blackstone to run two separate auctions - one for Duracell and one for its remaining food assets, Pringles and Folgers, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Representatives from Blackstone and Procter & Gamble declined to comment on the matter.
One source said Blackstone recommended a spin-off of the assets but the company was opposed.
A second source said Blackstone has been retained since early August.
Pringles and Folgers have been pinpointed as divestiture candidates since 2005. The first source said the brands had USD 2.7bn in sales and USD 600m in EBITDA.
Duracell is reported with P&G’s Braun under the company’s Household Care segment.
An industry banker with no knowledge of the situation said while the sale made sense, both entities could be spun off with little difficulty. Duracell would be more of a candidate than the food assets, the banker said. The most likely bidder for Duracell could be Matsushita, owners of the Panasonic brand, as Energizer and Rayovac would be precluded for anti-trust reasons, he added. Additionally Phillips and GE could be interested in the business, the banker said.
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