Schwan’s Co. sold to South Korean company for $1.8 billion

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – A food distributor with deep roots in Minnesota has been sold to South Korea’s largest food company.

The Schwan’s Co. is well known for home deliveries made by its gold trucks. The companies released a statement Thursday saying CJ CheilJedang will pay $1.8 billion for an 80 per cent stake in Schwan’s and gain control of its businesses that serve restaurants, grocery stores and other retailers.

The Schwan family will retain 20 per cent ownership in the businesses being sold to CJCJ. The family will keep 100 per cent ownership of Schwan’s Home Service Inc., the home-delivery business that Marvin Schwan began in Marshall in 1952.

The companies say Schwan’s will keep its name and its Minnesota offices in Bloomington and in Marshall. Schwan’s CEO Dimitrios Smyrnios will continue to lead the company.