By Linda Chiem ( July 8, 2015, 6:31 PM EDT) -- Facing activist investor pressure to shape up, ConAgra Foods Inc. has hired Centerview Partners to explore a sale of its private-label food-packaging unit Ralcorp Holdings Inc., which it acquired for $6.8 billion in 2013, Reuters reported Wednesday. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has also been hired to help advise ConAgra on a sale, according to the report. The hirings indicate the packaged foods giant is moving quickly to follow through on its recently announced plan to head in a new strategic direction and dump the private-label food-packaging unit that lost $1.5 billion in the year that ended March 31. Activist investor Jana Partners LLC, which last month upped the pressure on ConAgra after picking up a 7.2 percent stake in the company, has called the Ralcorp acquisition a major misstep and pushed ConAgra to overhaul its business. ConAgra's packaged foods empire includes Slim Jim snacks, Chef Boyardee canned foods, Hunt's ketchup and pasta sauces, Reddi-wip whip cream, Healthy Choice and Marie Callender's frozen meals, and other brands....
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