MELVILLE, N.Y. — Hain Daniels Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Hain Celestial Group, Inc., has entered an agreement to acquire Premier Foods P.L.C.’s portfolio of packaged grocery brands, including the Hartley’s, Sun-Pat, Gale’s, Robertson’s and Frank Cooper’s brands and the Histon manufacturing base in Cambridgeshire, U.K.

“When we acquired the Daniels Group, we planned to build upon its leadership position and use its platform for organic growth as well as future acquisition growth in the United Kingdom,” said Irwin D. Simon, founder, president and chief executive officer of Hain. “The strategic initiatives launched in the United Kingdom build upon the successful long-term growth of products in the chilled category achieved by Rob Burnett and his enhanced team who we expect will continue to leverage the Hain Daniels footprint into adjacent categories to deliver superior growth and profitable returns. In order for Hain Daniels to become one of the largest healthy food companies in the United Kingdom, we needed to expand Hain Daniels’ base into ambient grocery where we can leverage Hain Celestial's track record of success in the U.S. and Canada.”

The purchase is expected to close by the end of October and is expected to be accretive to Hain Celestial’s earnings after closing. The brands being acquired generated more than $250 million in sales during the last fiscal year.

The Hain Daniels Group was established in October 2011 after the acquisition of The Daniels Group. Hain Daniels makes and sells fresh food and drinks in eight chilled and frozen food categories.

After the success of Hain Celestial’s product offerings in ambient grocery in North America and Europe, Hain Daniels will establish an Ambient Grocery Division that will supply major food retailers, food service business-to-business and export customers in the United Kingdom.