News Release

ConAgra Agrees to Buy Egg Beaters and Nabisco Tablespreads Businesses

Jul 20, 1998, 8:00 PM EDT

Omaha, Nebraska, July 21, 1998

ConAgra, Inc. (NYSE: CAG) and Nabisco, Inc. (NYSE: NA) have a definitive agreement for ConAgra to acquire Nabisco's Egg Beaters and Nabisco's tablespreads business, the number-two margarine business in the U.S. The companies expect to conclude the cash transaction following expiration of the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Egg Beaters, the first fat-free, cholesterol-free egg product, is a "healthy foods" pioneer. Egg Beaters has long been the leading real egg alternative product in the U.S. in both retail and foodservice markets. The tablespreads business manufactures and markets margarine under the Parkay, Blue Bonnet, Fleischmann's, Touch of Butter, Chiffon and Move Over Butter brand names. Annual sales of the combined businesses are about $480 million.

ConAgra Sees Strategic Value: Powerful Brands, Excellent Fit, New Core Business

"These are profitable businesses that command strong market positions and leverage our strengths in the refrigerated sections of the grocery store," said Bruce Rohde, ConAgra president and chief executive officer. "The brands we are buying are natural strategic fits with our brands like Healthy Choice, another "healthy foods" pioneer, and our refrigerated cheese and dairy topping brands like County Line, Treasure Cave and Reddi-Wip."

Egg substitutes and tablespreads add a new core business to ConAgra's portfolio of businesses across the food chain. "This is an important strategic opportunity for ConAgra, moving us into two new grocery categories with some of the most recognized and well-respected brand names in those categories," Rohde said. "We gain strong retail presence and clear foodservice potential."

Omaha-based ConAgra is a diversified international food company with operations spanning the food chain. Annual sales are about $24 billion.

ConAgra's well-known consumer brands include Healthy Choice and Advantage10 health-positioned foods; Banquet, Marie Callender's, Kid Cuisine and MaMa Rosa frozen foods; Butterball and Country Pride turkey and chicken products; Hunt's tomato products; Orville Redenbacher's and ACT II popcorn products; Armour, Swift Premium, Eckrich, Cook's and Decker processed meat products; Van Camp's bean products; Peter Pan peanut butter; Hebrew National kosher products; Wesson oil products; Swiss Miss and Snack Pack cocoa and pudding products; County Line and Treasure Cave cheese products; Reddi-Wip dessert toppings; Knott's Berry Farm fruit products; Manwich sauces; Singleton and Taste O'Sea seafood products; Wolf Brand chili products; Chun King and La Choy Oriental products; and Rosarita, Patio and Gebhardt Mexican products.

The addition of the Parkay, Blue Bonnet and Fleischmann's brands — and the previously announced planned addition of GoodMark Foods, Inc.'s Slim Jim brand — would raise to 25 the number of ConAgra brands with annual retail sales exceeding $100 million.

For more information, contact:

Hank Sandbach
Vice President, Public Relations
Nabisco, Inc.
(973) 682-7098