Hormel Foods Corp., known for cured, smoked, and deli meats (as well as Spam) is buying the Skippy peanut butter brand from Unilever for $700 million, its biggest acquisition ever. Just 4 percent of Hormel’s revenue is from abroad; it’s hoping the deal will help it expand overseas. Peanuts and peanut oil, CEO Jeffrey Ettinger noted, are popular in China. And with 17 percent of the US peanut butter market, Skippy has room to grow.
