The Supply Side: Wal-Mart supplier community news briefs

• ConAgra raising capital
ConAgra Foods Inc. is offering to sell about $240 million of its common stock through an underwritten public offering. The Omaha-based company also granted the underwriter a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional $35 million of its common stock.

ConAgra intends to use the proceeds to fund, in part, the acquisition of St. Louis-based Ralcorp Holdings. ConAgra Foods agreed in November it would purchase Ralcorp in a transaction valued at about $6.8 billion, including the assumption of debt. If the acquisition is not consummated, ConAgra Foods plans to use the net proceeds for general corporate purchases.

ConAgra Foods has filed a registration statement relating to the securities with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The offering may be made only by means of a preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.

ConAgra Foods is a major supplier to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and maintains a local sales office in Northwest Arkansas.

• Macy’s CEO tagged for P&G board
Procter & Gamble name Macy’s chairman, president and CEO Terry Lundgren as the newest member of its board of directors.

Lundgren fills a position vacated by Johnathan Rodgers who is not seeking re-election when P&G’s holds its annual shareholder meeting in October.

"We are delighted to welcome Terry Lundgren to the board," said P&G chairman, president and CEO Bob McDonald. "He brings extensive leadership, strategy and risk management experience, as well as exceptional knowledge of the consumer industry and dynamic marketing practices. His hands-on experience in organizational optimization will be invaluable as we continue to drive our productivity programs forward."

Lundgren will serve on the governance and public responsibility and the innovation and technology committees of P&G’s board. Retiring board member Rodgers has served on the board since 2001.

• Nestle to sell some of its assets
The South American division of Nestle is working with Rothschild to sell Latin American assets valued at more than $1 billion to win regulatory approval for its purchase of Pfizer's nutrition unit, according media sources.

The company is in the early stages of the sales process. It is believed the assets may draw interest from H.J. Heinz, Danone SA, Abbott Laboratories, Mead Johnson Nutrition and Grupo Lala SA.

Nestle is a supplier to Wal-Mart Stores and maintains a large sales office in Rogers.

• Nonnie’s Foods acquires La Dolce Vita
Nonni’s Foods, a supplier of biscotti and almond thins in North America, has acquired the La Dolce Vita brand from Villa Veneto Corp.

Villa Veneto makes artisan biscotti and other specialty cookies sold in the club and grocery channels like Sam’s Club and Walmart.

“La Dolce Vita is a strong strategic fit with Nonni’s, supports our growing biscotti business, expands our baking capabilities and positions Nonni’s, THINaddictives and La Dolce Vita to accelerate growth within premium cookies,” said Dave Bere, CEO of Nonni’s Foods.

• Kraft executive joins Hillshire Brands
Brian Davison was recently chosen as senior vice president of corporate strategy and development at Hillshire Brands.

Davison will be responsible for acquisition, merger and divestiture activities, strategic planning and implementing high impact projects. He joined the company on Jan 2, and will report to CEO Sean Connolly

“Brian has deep food industry and consumer knowledge that he uses to create high impact strategic and operational plans,” said Connolly. “His addition to our management team will help focus our business development activities and build additional momentum for companywide operational improvement priorities.”

Davison worked in strategic planning at Kraft Foods. He has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois as well as a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago.