* Co divests Slim-Fast trademark, global Slim-Fast business portfolio
* Co to retain minority stake in Slim-Fast
* Kainos says Healthy Delights' CEO to head Slim-Fast
* Terms of deal not disclosed (Adds CEO change from Kainos statement)
July 10 (Reuters) - Consumer goods maker Unilever Plc said it had sold its Slim-Fast brand to Kainos Capital, a U.S.-based private equity firm focused on the food and consumer sector.
The sale is part of Unilever's ongoing effort to reshape its U.S. portfolio and focus on its core higher-margin personal care business, the company said.
The Anglo-Dutch maker of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Dove soap and Lipton tea said it would retain a minority stake in Slim-Fast, the weight loss and meal replacement business, which sells dietary food products such as snack bars and protein meal shakes.
Chris Tisi, the head and founder of health product maker Healthy Delights, will become Slim-Fast's new chief executive, Kainos said in a separate statement.
Unilever did not disclose financial terms of the deal, which closed on Thursday. The deal includes the Slim-Fast trademark and global Slim-Fast business portfolio.
The company said in April that it would undertake a strategic review of its North American pasta sauce business, which includes the market-leading Ragu brand, and the troubled Slim-Fast brand, whose sales have tumbled in its biggest market.
Unilever shares closed at 2598 pence on the London Stock Exchange on Thursday.
(Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bangalore; Editing by Simon Jennings)