Procter & Gamble is to sell its Pringles snacks business to the owner of Kettle Chips, Diamond Foods.

The $2.35bn deal will see Diamond pay $1.5bn for Pringles and take on $850m of its debt.

Bob McDonald, chief executive of P&G said it was a “terrific deal for our shareholders”.

Pringles is the world’s largest potato crisp brand with sales in more than 140 countries.

But as a food brand, Pringles stood out as the exception in P&G’s portfolio, which owns dozens of personal care and household product brands.

Under the terms of the deal, a new entity will be formed to hold the Pringles business and then merged into Diamond Foods. P&G shareholders will own about 57% of the new company, with Diamond shareholders owning the rest.