Jan 28 (Reuters) – Tiger Brands, South Africa’s biggest food producer, said on Tuesday it would sell its 24.4% stake in food producer Empresas Carozzi back to Chilean parent Carozzi for $240 million to focus on its domestic business.

Tiger Brands is in the middle of a turnaround plan that includes adjusting its product pricing, cutting costs and reducing the number of brands and products it sells.

Carozzi, a more-than-125-year-old company that sells everything from sauces and dressings to powdered beverages and pet foods, already owns 75.6% of Empresas Carozzi.

Tiger Brands bought the stake in Empresas Carozzi in 1999 to expand its presence in Latin America.

Due to its new strategy to grow business at home, further expansion into Latin America was “no longer a strategic priority,” the South African company said in a statement.

It said it would invest proceeds of the stake sale into its core business and any excess cash will be returned to shareholders through share buybacks or special dividends.

(Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi; Editing by Savio D’Souza)