Dive Brief:
- ConAgra Foods has spent $75 million on purchasing three structures on its downtown Omaha headquarters' campus, which the company previously leased. ConAgra now owns three of the campus's five buildings plus long-term leases on the other two, reports the Omaha World-Herald.
- With this purchase, ConAgra could have more flexibility in terms of what to do with its headquarters, such as a sale or redevelopment, without contending with a long-term lease or landlord.
- ConAgra announced in October that the company would be moving its headquarters to Chicago and cutting about 1,500 non-plant jobs in the process.
Dive Insight:
Because breaking leases early can be a financial hassle, owning rather than leasing these buildings may make more sense as ConAgra plans its big headquarters move.
"While work is beginning to determine exactly what space we’ll need and what our footprint on campus will look like, this is going to take a little more time before we’ll be at a point where we have more details to share," ConAgra vice president for corporate affairs Chris Kircher told Omaha World-Herald.
Speaking to employees recently, ConAgra CEO Sean Connolly said the company must make major changes to keep pace with competitors and survive in a changing food industry landscape. In addition to ConAgra's HQ move and coming layoffs, reported by the Omaha World-Herald, this has included selling off its private label brands and splitting its business into two public companies.