Nestle Open For Purchases, No Major Acquisition In Sight
February 19 2009 - 5:38AM
Dow Jones News
Nestle S.A. (NESN.VX) is open for acquisitions but no major
purchase is imminent, company executives said Thursday.
"We are open for acquisitions if they make sense," Nestle Chief
Executive Paul Bulcke said during a media conference, adding the
world's largest food and beverages company typically spends around
2 billion Swiss francs ($1.7 billion) each year to round out its
portfolio.
"There is no major acquisition target in sight," Chief Financial
Officer James Singh said.
Earlier Thursday, Nestle reported a 69% rise in 2008 net profit
to CHF18.04 billion, boosted by a partial divestment of a majority
holding in U.S. eye-care company Alcon Inc (ACL) to Novartis AG
(NOVN.VX).
Company Web site: http://www.nestle.com
-By Martin Gelnar, Dow Jones Newswires; +41 43 443 8042;
martin.gelnar@dowjones.com