Heinz CFO: Acquisitions Pool is 'Deep'

(MoneyWatch)  During an investor conference the other day, Heinz finance chief Art Winkleblack noted how the company's "comfort foods" make it well-positioned to thrive even in a down economy.

He also said that the company is also well-positioned to grow through acquisitions -- a word not much heard lately, at least not in a positive way. The "pool of potential acquisition targets is as deep as we've seen in recent history," he said.

Sure, targets abound. The problem is, there aren't many targeters thanks to the credit crunch. Heinz may be among the few.

The company reported a 12 percent increase in profits in its fiscal first quarter, which ended in July. In a conference call with analysts in August, Mr. Winkleblack talked about acquisitions, but he was slightly less enthusiastic in his language. "We are looking hard and the pipeline is a bit better than it had been over the last couple of years," he said. "There's a bit more to look at and we'll see how we do."

That was before the financial crisis. It could be that Mr. Winkleblack sees more troubled companies with strong brands out there now. Acquisitions, he said, could be large or small.

Most likely, any such deals would be less leveraged than they would be if banks weren't so frightened of lending money. Asked in August whether Heinz would use equity to pay for acquisitions, Winkleblack declined to answer.

Heinz recently acquired Golden Circle, an Australian producer of canned fruits and vegetables, for about $196 million. In August, it completed a deal for the French sauce mker Benedicta. Terms of that acquisition were not disclosed.