LONDON — The food giant Nestlé said on Friday that it was selling its 10 percent stake in Givaudan, the Swiss flavors and fragrance company.
The sale of the stake, valued at more than $1 billion, is the latest in a series of divestitures aimed at streamlining Nestlé’s offerings and focusing on more profitable business lines.
The share divestiture will be accomplished as a private placement to institutional investors. Goldman Sachs is managing the sale.
“Nestlé has been very satisfied with its holding but believes now is the appropriate time to divest,” the company said in a statement.
Nestlé acquired the stake in Givaudan through the sale of the food ingredient company FIS in a cash-and-stock deal in 2002.
Nestlé, the maker of Kit Kat chocolate bars, Nespresso coffee and Purina dog and cat food, holds 926,562 shares of Givaudan, which were valued at about 1.2 billion Swiss francs, or $1.3 billion, as of the closing price on Thursday.
Shares of Givaudan were down 3.6 percent to 1,191 Swiss francs, in trading on Friday.
In October, Nestlé’s chief executive, Paul Bulcke, said the company planned to sell some of its underperforming brands.
Last month, Nestlé agreed to sell its Jenny Craig brand in North America, Australia, New Zealand and parts of the Pacific to a private equity firm, North Castle Partners, for an undisclosed amount.
The company sold an Australian ice cream brand in June and two French bottled water brands in July.
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