JP Morgan: Campbell Soup Paid 11x Trailing EBITDA for Bolthouse Farms

JP Morgan has published a research report on Campbell Soup Company

after the announced intention to buy Bolthouse Farms for $1.55 billion, or 2.25x March sales. In the report, JP Morgan wrote, "Though we believe CPB bought Bolthouse primarily to gain capabilities and relationships in premium refrigerated beverages, keep in mind that beverages comprise less than 50% of Bolthouse's sales. Around half of total Bolthouse sales are bagged carrots, which in our view is a largely commodity-oriented business. To be fair, the beverage business is growing very quickly and in a few years likely will comprise a larger percentage of sales than it does today." JP Morgan maintains its Underweight rating on Campbell Soup Company, which is currently trading up 0.03% from Friday's $32.99 closing price.