B&G Foods has sold its B&M brand of baked beans and brown bread and its Joan of Arc brand of kidney, chili and other canned beans to McCall Farms, Inc., the company announced on 13 October 2026. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

B&G, which is based in Parsippany, New Jersey, said it intends to use the net proceeds to repay long-term debt. The announcement gave no sales figures for the two brands and no details of any plants, employees or supply arrangements included in the sale. Just Food, which reported the sale on 14 October, described McCall Farms as a fellow US manufacturer but gave no details of its ownership or size.

The sale of the B&M and Joan of Arc brands is another step in our efforts to simplify our portfolio, focus on our core brands and strengthen our balance sheet.

Robert D. Mills, President and Chief Executive Officer, B&G Foods

Mills added that B&G believes McCall Farms is the right owner for the brands.

A second deal with the same buyer

This is the second transaction between the two companies in just over a year. In August 2025, B&G sold its US Le Sueur shelf-stable vegetable business, which specialises in canned peas, green beans and carrots, to McCall Farms for an undisclosed sum, Just Food reported. B&G’s second-quarter results release gives 1 August 2025 as the date the Le Sueur US divestiture closed.

B&G has been selling assets as it works to reduce debt. It completed the sale of its US Green Giant frozen business on 2 March 2026; Just Food reported that the buyer was Seneca Foods, which had bought the US Green Giant shelf-stable business in 2023. B&G’s results for the quarter to 4 July 2026 show a current portion of long-term debt of $513.8 million and long-term debt, net of that current portion, of $2,008.5 million. Net sales for the quarter fell 9.7% to $383.3 million, operating income rose to $34.6 million from $22.0 million and the net loss narrowed to $4.0 million from $9.8 million.

A Canadian sale that fell through

Days before the McCall Farms announcement, B&G ended a separate agreement to sell Green Giant Canada, its Green Giant and Le Sieur frozen and shelf-stable vegetable business in Canada, to Nortera Foods. In a joint announcement on 6 October, the companies said they had terminated on 5 October the asset purchase agreement entered into on 24 October 2025, because approval under Canada’s Competition Act had not been obtained by the outside date of 24 September 2026. B&G will continue to own and operate Green Giant Canada, and Nortera will continue to serve as its primary co-manufacturer.

In August, Canada’s Competition Bureau asked the Competition Tribunal to block the sale and to stop the companies closing it before the Tribunal decided. The Bureau said Nortera was already Canada’s dominant processor of certain canned and frozen vegetables, that the deal would combine it with its only major national brand competitor, and that it was likely to lead to higher prices, fewer choices and less competition in the wholesale grocery supply.

B&G said it intends to continue evaluating strategic and operational alternatives for Green Giant Canada, including potential sale transactions and strategic partnerships. Nortera, which markets brands including Arctic Gardens and Del Monte in Canada, describes itself as North America’s leading processor of frozen and canned vegetables.

F&B Today’s reading

  • Analysis: Indebted brand owners are selling brands one or two at a time to established manufacturers. For UK and Indian companies looking to buy brands, disposals by larger groups under balance sheet pressure can be a source of deals, and McCall Farms’ return as a buyer suggests the advantage of being a known home for a category.
  • Analysis: The Nortera collapse shows that a sale to the leading processor in a concentrated category can fail on competition grounds even when that processor already makes the products. Deal teams in the UK and India should plan for possible review by the CMA or the Competition Commission of India in similar cases and set break fees and long-stop dates accordingly.
  • Analysis: Co-packers should watch brand disposals closely. When a brand moves to an owner with its own plants, existing co-manufacturing volumes can be at risk; when a sale fails, as in Canada, the incumbent co-manufacturer may keep the work.