H J Heinz Co

The Los Angeles-based maker of Skippy dog food and Petuna cat food said Wednesday that it has agreed to sell its pet food business to foods giant H. J. Heinz for an undisclosed sum. California Home Brands Holdings, a privately held firm based in Terminal Island, said the sale would include pet food plants in Long Beach, Wilmington, San Leandro and Etiwanda, Calif., and Camp Hill, Pa. The plants employ about 550 people.

Dissident investor Nelson Peltz and an ally appear to have won two seats on the H.J. Heinz Co. board after campaigning for deeper cost cuts and other changes that they say would invigorate the performance of the ketchup and food maker. Heinz said Friday that initial results showed Peltz and Michael F. Weinstein won seats on the 12-member board -- along with 10 of the dozen people nominated by the company -- following a months-long battle over how to lift the company's stock price.

H. J. Heinz Co. has purchased a 370-employee plant in Chatsworth as part of its acquisition of Borden Foodservice Group from Borden Inc. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. The transaction also includes a facility in Chambersburg, Pa. The two plants produce single-serving lines of sauces, dressings, relishes, syrups, dessert toppings, non-dairy creamers, ketchup, mustard and other condiments. Food giant Heinz, based in Pittsburgh, said its food-service business generates $1.

H.J. Heinz Co. said Thursday that its fiscal first-quarter profit jumped by 23%, thanks in part to strong sales growth, even as the ketchup and food maker awaited the outcome of a struggle with activist investors. Profit grew to $194.1 million, or 58 cents a share, for the quarter ended Aug. 2, compared with $157.3 million, or 45 cents, a year earlier. Revenue at the Pittsburgh-based company edged up 8% to $2.06 billion.

H.J. Heinz Co. said it had rejected investor Nelson Peltz's demand for board representation. Pittsburgh-based Heinz also said Peltz's demand to cut annual costs by $575 million was "unrealistic."

H.J. Heinz Co. has acquired the Yoshida's brand of Asian sauces in North America for undisclosed terms. Heinz said sales for the brand exceed $20 million annually. * Guide to Our Staff: Need to reach Business section reporters or editors? A guide to the section's staff can be found at http://www.latimes.com/bizstaff.

H.J. Heinz Co. told investors that it would meet its financial goals for 2006 and that it expected further growth next year after a successful restructuring effort. The Pittsburgh-based food maker forecast 2006 earnings of as much as $2.16 a share and 2007 growth per share of 8%. The guidance came amid mounting pressure from a group led by billionaire investor Nelson Peltz, who wants to force Heinz to more aggressively manage its cash.

H.J. Heinz Co., fighting billionaire investor Nelson Peltz's bid to restructure the company, said Wednesday that Peltz might have enough shareholder votes to place nominees from his five-member slate on the company's board. Chief Executive William Johnson said after Wednesday's annual meeting that he was optimistic that Peltz wouldn't win as many as four seats on the board of Heinz, the world's largest ketchup maker. Vote totals won't be available for weeks.

H.J. Heinz Co. said the California Public Employees' Retirement System, or CalPERS, the largest U.S. public pension fund, would vote its 1.66 million Heinz shares to reelect all 12 members of the company's board. Heinz said CalPERS' support reinforced the food company's position in its proxy fight with investor Nelson Peltz and his Cayman Islands-based hedge fund.

H.J. Heinz Co. said Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit fell 19%, and that it planned to slash 2,700 jobs and exit 15 plants in an effort to cut costs and boost profit. The company, best known for its namesake ketchup, has faced pressure from billionaire investor Nelson Peltz to increase shareholder returns. Peltz's Trian Fund Management criticized the restructuring plan Thursday, saying it doesn't go far enough.

H.J. Heinz Co. said it had rejected investor Nelson Peltz's demand for board representation. Pittsburgh-based Heinz also said Peltz's demand to cut annual costs by $575 million was "unrealistic."

H.J. Heinz Co. received a proposed growth strategy Tuesday from a group of shareholders led by billionaire investor Nelson Peltz, who has sought to pressure the food maker into boosting returns. Investment firms Trian Fund Management and Sandell Asset Management Group outlined the proposal in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. They own about 5.4% of the company's stock.

H.J. Heinz Co. told investors that it would meet its financial goals for 2006 and that it expected further growth next year after a successful restructuring effort. The Pittsburgh-based food maker forecast 2006 earnings of as much as $2.16 a share and 2007 growth per share of 8%. The guidance came amid mounting pressure from a group led by billionaire investor Nelson Peltz, who wants to force Heinz to more aggressively manage its cash.

H.J. Heinz Co. said the California Public Employees' Retirement System, or CalPERS, the largest U.S. public pension fund, would vote its 1.66 million Heinz shares to reelect all 12 members of the company's board. Heinz said CalPERS' support reinforced the food company's position in its proxy fight with investor Nelson Peltz and his Cayman Islands-based hedge fund.

Billionaire investor Nelson Peltz stepped up his drive to squeeze more value out of his holdings by seeking five seats on the board of H.J. Heinz Co. a day after getting Wendy's International Inc. to accept his choices. The company said Peltz, who controls less than 5% of Heinz shares, notified it that he wanted five directors on the board of the ketchup maker, including himself and professional golfer Greg Norman. Heinz shares rose 88 cents to $38.23.

H.J. Heinz Co. said Tuesday that it was considering trimming European operations and might sell off a host of brands for about $1 billion in a move to focus operations on its ketchup and other core products. The Pittsburgh-based condiment and food maker said the businesses that it might sell accounted for about $1.4 billion in yearly sales and included its seafood, vegetable and frozen-food businesses in Europe and its Tegel poultry unit in New Zealand.