Kraft Heinz Sells North American Coffee Unit for $650M

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Kraft Heinz is selling its North American coffee business, including Maxwell House and Gevalia, to the private equity firm One Rock Capital Partners. The deal values the unit at $650 million and lands inside a turnaround that CEO Steve Cahillane says is on track.

Earnings arrived with the sale

Kraft Heinz announced the deal on Wednesday, the same day it reported third-quarter results. Earnings beat expectations, and the company improved its guidance for 2026. It now expects organic net sales to be down 0.5% to 1.25%.

The second-quarter report had left room for a drop of as much as 2%, so the new range is tighter.

Cahillane said market share, sales and volume trends are better than last year in every region, and that the plan to fix the U.S. business and grow abroad is on track. Shares were up about 5% on Wednesday morning.

A turnaround that replaced a breakup

Cahillane joined in January. Before him, the company had been working on a plan to split in two, which would have unwound the $46 billion merger formed a decade ago. He paused that work and has said the problems at Kraft Heinz are "fixable and within our control."

The effort so far includes $700 million of reinvestment and a tighter focus on some core brands. Cahillane called the coffee sale "a meaningful step in unlocking value from our portfolio."

What the buyer gets and what Kraft Heinz keeps

The price is stated as an enterprise value, a measure that counts a business's debt alongside its equity. Closing is expected in mid-2027. Kraft Heinz will not walk away entirely: it keeps a 30% noncontrolling equity stake in the coffee business.

The company puts the after-tax cash proceeds at $500 million and plans to use them to pay down debt. It describes the sale as a way to move resources to where it can speed up growth.

Source: CNBC