New York, Oct. 10 - Diamond Foods Inc., which produces packaged nuts, has hired Lehman Brothers to find buyers for the company, the Financial Times reported on its Web site on Wednesday, citing a banker and a private equity source.
The sale process is at an early stage, the newspaper said. Potential buyers might include Kraft Foods (KFT.N: Quote, Profile, Research), which owns the Planters brand, John B San Fillipo & Sons and others, the paper said.
Stockton, California-based Diamond Foods' shares closed at $21.28 on Nasdaq on Tuesday, giving it a market value of $315 million.