Hershey Plans to Sell Pasta Business

Hershey Foods Corp. said it is looking to end a 32-year presence in the U.S. pasta business to concentrate on the higher-growth candy business. Hershey, which holds the biggest share of the U.S. branded dry pasta market, with brand names such as Ronzoni and San Giorgio, said it has hired Wall Street investment bankers Goldman, Sachs & Co. to find a buyer for the pasta segment of its Pasta & Grocery Group. The Hershey pasta business, with annual sales of $400 million in 1997, was described by analysts as efficient and well-positioned but operating in a weakened segment of the American food industry. Last year, Pasta & Grocery Group saw sales decline 4%. Shares of Hershey, based in Hershey, Pa., closed unchanged at $67 on the NYSE.