Kraft Foods has signed a deal to sell  the Estrella, Maarud and Taffel Chips brands to Fepco 1 AS, a Norwegian subsidy of Herkules Private Equity Fund. The sale of its Nordic and Baltic salted snack business comes on the heels of the sale of its Post cereals business to Ralcorp Holdings.

In the Nordic and Baltic countries, Kraft has decided to concentrate on brands in its core categories of coffee, chocolate, biscuits, cheese and dairy; brands favoured by the strategy include Gevalia and Jacobs coffee, Marabou and Freia chocolate, and Philadelphia cream cheese. The Estrella and Maarud brands are present in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Taffel Chips are present only in Denmark.

The firm has had a restructuring programme in place since 2004, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2008. Guidance also reflects the company's expectation for greater savings at a lower cost from its restructuring program. Cumulative annualized savings will reach approximately US$1.2 billion, of which US$1.0 billion will be realized by the end of 2008.

Of the proposed Nordic/Baltic deal Piero Capizzi, VP market and customer development in the region, said it “fits Kraft International’s strategy to focus on our core categories where we can reinforce our competitive advantages and win in the marketplace."