Kraft Heinz Sells Maxwell House Owner in $650 Million Deal

Kraft Heinz has agreed to sell its North American coffee business, including the Maxwell House and Sanka brands, to private equity firm One Rock Capital Partners in a deal with an enterprise value of $650 million. The transaction is expected to close in the middle of 2027, the company said.

Kraft Heinz will retain a 30% stake in the coffee business. Net cash proceeds after taxes are expected to total approximately $500 million, which the food giant plans to use to pay down debt.

The sale marks a defining move for Steve Cahillane, who took over as CEO in January and has vowed to streamline the company around product categories where it can accelerate growth, such as condiments. Cahillane has committed millions of dollars to marketing and innovation for the company's top brands.

What does the deal change for Kraft Heinz?

Since taking the helm, the former Kellanova executive has moved quickly to reverse stagnating performance at the maker of Oscar Mayer cold cuts, Philadelphia cream cheese and Heinz ketchup. His early actions include:

• Pausing a plan to split the company
• Overhauling Kraft Heinz's operating structure
• Pledging to invest $700 million in the business
• Pushing brands into trendy categories, such as Kraft Mac & Cheese into protein and Jell-O with no artificial colors or sweeteners

Kraft Heinz has reportedly tried to sell underperforming segments like coffee for years, and some analysts have recently speculated it could make a renewed push under Cahillane to sharpen the focus around its core portfolio.

"This transaction is a meaningful step in unlocking value from our portfolio and will further accelerate the momentum behind our transformation," Cahillane said in a statement. "Our continued stake reflects the confidence we have in their long-term potential under One Rock's focused ownership."

Why exit a strong coffee category?

The coffee category has performed well, but Kraft Heinz competed against giants with far larger positions in the segment, including Nestlé with Nescafé and Nespresso and J.M. Smucker with Folgers and Dunkin'. The sale lets Kraft Heinz concentrate resources on higher-growth categories where it holds bigger market positions, while the retained 30% stake preserves exposure to any further upside in coffee.

The divestiture arrives against a weak sales backdrop. Kraft Heinz said Wednesday that net sales during its third quarter fell 2% to $6.12 billion, with sales in North America, its largest region, slipping 3.4%. The company narrowed its organic net sales forecast to a decline of between 0.5% and 1.25%, an improvement from its earlier projection of as much as a 2% drop.

Cahillane said market share, sales and volume trends are improving in every region compared with a year ago.

"We are increasingly meeting consumers where they are, and giving them more reasons to choose our brands," he said.

With roughly $500 million in proceeds directed at debt reduction and a mid-2027 close ahead, Cahillane has signaled that further portfolio moves to concentrate Kraft Heinz on its strongest categories remain firmly on the table.