Ahold has reached a deal to sell its scandal-plagued US Foodservice subsidiary for $7.1 billion, to a consortium that comprises Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Fund VII LP and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
The deal was announced just days after Ahold CEO Anders Moberg announced his resignation a year before his contract expired.
US Foodservice was at the center of an accounting scandal in which it was discovered that the division had been overstating its results for several years. The revelations forced the ouster of both corporate and subsidiary executives, and have led to years of trying to recover from the fallout.
The deal was announced just days after Ahold CEO Anders Moberg announced his resignation a year before his contract expired.
US Foodservice was at the center of an accounting scandal in which it was discovered that the division had been overstating its results for several years. The revelations forced the ouster of both corporate and subsidiary executives, and have led to years of trying to recover from the fallout.
- KC's View:
- We wonder if this is just the first step in what will be a series of divestments by Ahold of its various US operations. After all, the company has been under pressure from some dissident shareholders to sell off its US business as a way of maximizing stockholder value, and Moberg has been resisting those calls. The departure of Moberg and the sale of US Foodservice leads us to wonder whether the dam is about to break.
