A deal for B&G Foods to sell its Green Giant and Le Sieur brands in Canada to Nortera Foods has stalled nearly a year after it was first announced, as the transaction faces opposition from Canada’s competition watchdog.
Bruce Wacha, chief financial officer of B&G Foods, addressed the delay on Sept. 9 during a presentation at the Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference in Boston. He said the company has a buyer in place but remains in the middle of a regulatory review process that has taken longer than expected. Wacha said the company had hoped to complete the transaction by the end of the year, calling the delay frustrating, while maintaining that the deal is a good one for all parties involved, including Canadian consumers.
B&G Foods, based in Parsippany, New Jersey, agreed in October 2025 to sell its Green Giant and Le Sieur frozen and shelf-stable product lines in Canada to Nortera Foods. At the time, the companies expected the sale to close in the fourth quarter of 2025 or the first quarter of 2026, pending regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions.
That approval has not materialized. On Aug. 19, 2026, Canada’s Competition Bureau, based in Gatineau, Quebec, said the proposed transaction was likely to result in higher prices, fewer choices and reduced competition in the wholesale grocery supply market.
According to the Competition Bureau, Nortera is already Canada’s dominant processor of certain canned and frozen vegetables, selling products under the Del Monte and Arctic Gardens brands. The bureau said combining Nortera with its only major national brand competitor would harm competition in a market it described as highly concentrated. The bureau also noted that while Nortera processes most of B&G’s vegetable products in Canada, B&G currently operates as an independent supplier that competes with Nortera in selling products to grocery retailers.
In response, B&G Foods said on Aug. 19 that it believes the transaction serves the best interests of all stakeholders, including Canadian consumers. The company said it is evaluating multiple options going forward, including potential legal, regulatory and operational alternatives.
The Competition Bureau has asked Canada’s Competition Tribunal, an independent body that hears applications under the Competition Act and issues rulings, to block the acquisition.
The Canadian sale is part of a broader unwinding of B&G Foods’ Green Giant holdings. The company previously sold the Green Giant U.S. canned vegetable business to Seneca Foods in November 2023, followed by the Green Giant U.S. frozen vegetable business earlier this year.
This article references reporting from: