(Reuters) – Canada’s George Weston Ltd said on Tuesday that it has launched a sale process for its baked goods business, Weston Foods, as the food manufacturer looks to focus on its retail and real estate units.
The company, which owns grocer Loblaw Cos, has seen surging online sales during the COVID-19 pandemic and has invested heavily on technology to focus on its retail business.
Weston Foods had sales of $2.1 billion annually in 2020.
The Canadian food producer and distributor expects proceeds from the sale of Weston Foods to be returned to stockholders through buybacks over time.
Separately, Loblaw said Chief Financial Officer Darren Myers was stepping down in May and would be succeeded by George Weston’s finance chief Richard Dufresne.
Reporting by Mehr Bedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber