Sandell Asset Management Corp., an activist investor who gained seats on the board of Bob Evans Farms Inc. last year, is pressuring the company to sell its packaged foods business once again,  reports the Wall Street Journal . Bob Evans Farms, which operates more than 550 restaurants and produces and distributes food products, received a letter from Sandell Asset Management advising the company to sell the division to Post Holdings Inc., stating that Post would indeed be receptive to the deal and would likely pay more than $950 million, exceeding the current market capitalization of Bob Evans of $893 million.

 

”Our Board is focused on ways to improve performance and enhance shareholder value and will continue to review ways to accomplish these goals,” Bob Evans said, reports the Wall Street Journal.

 

Since winning four seats out of 12 on Bob Evan’s board in August 2014, Sandell has been successful in pressuring Bob Evans to spin off its real estate, and to appoint a new chief executive favored by Sandell, but as to the question of selling its packaged food business, Bob Evans is remaining aloof.

 

In March of this year, following a review of the possibility of selling the unit, the company announced it has decided against the sale of the division stating that such a move would incur a high tax penalty and that it was not seen as an act that would create value for the company’s shareholders.

 

In its letter, Sandell counters that Post could build a ‘creative structure’ for the deal, which would serve to avoid a large tax burden.

 

In an emailed statement, the Wall Street Journal states that Bob Evans is maintaining an “active dialogue” with Sandell, while Post Holdings did not respond to a request for a comment.