Goya boss quietly scrapped deal to sell company before controversy
According to the deal, Robert Unanue would have been required to leave his position as CEO within 18 months
Robert Unanue, the CEO of Goya Foods, successfully squashed a deal that would have cost him his job just prior to his statement supporting President Donald Trump, which recently led to a boycott.
The deal, with BDT Capital Partners, would have valued the company at $4 billion and expanded the brand.
READ MORE: Black Twitter drags Ivanka Trump after she posts photo with Goya beans
According to a report in The New York Post, the deal would have required Unanue to leave his position within 18 months.
Sources told The Post that the company’s board of directors voted against the deal last Wednesday after initially tentatively agreeing to it weeks earlier.
“I don’t think it was a coincidence,” one source close to the family told the Post. “All of a sudden there is going to be a shareholder vote and here he is, saying this stuff about Trump.”
On July 9, Unanue and other Latino leaders visited the White House for a round table event. During remarks following the event, Unanue said, “We’re all truly blessed at the same time to have a leader like President Trump, who is a builder. And that’s what my grandfather did.”
His grandfather, Don Prudencio Unanue, founded the Jersey City, NJ-based company in 1936 after emigrating from Spain.
The backlash to the comments was immediate as Latinx leaders like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, “Oh look, it’s the sound of me Googling ‘how to make your own Adobo.’”
The hashtags #BoycottGoya and #Goyaway gained traction as people wondered how Unanue could support a president who has taken a tough stance on immigration including detaining children at the border.
READ MORE: Goya Foods CEO responds to brand boycott: ‘I’m not apologizing’
Despite the risks to the long-term effects his comments could have on the brand of Latin food, Unanue has continued to support the president. “So, you’re allowed to talk good or to praise one president, but you’re not allowed to aid in economic and educational prosperity? And you make a positive comment and all of a sudden, it is not acceptable,” Unanue said on Fox News.
He noted that he had also participated in White House events for Hispanic Heritage Month during the Obama administration.
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s new podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
