HANOVER, PA. — Salty snack maker Utz Quality Foods, L.L.C. has reached an agreement to acquire Phoenix-based Inventure Foods, Inc. in a transaction valued at approximately $165 million. The deal comes a little more than a year after Inventure initiated a strategic and financial review to increase shareholder value.
Under terms of the deal, Utz will commence a tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Inventure’s common stock at a price of $4 per share in cash, for a total purchase price of approximately $165 million, including the assumption of approximately $75 million of debt and debt-like items, net of cash, approximately $8 million of the company’s estimated closing costs and approximately $3 million due to equity award holders.
 |
| Dylan Lissette, c.e.o. of Utz Quality Foods |
“We are tremendously excited about the opportunity to acquire Inventure Foods,” said Dylan Lissette, chief executive officer of Utz Quality Foods. “The company’s specialty snack food products and brands, as well as its geographic footprint, customer relationships and distribution strengths, are highly complementary to our business, and we look forward to continuing Inventure’s strong heritage of innovation in both healthy and indulgent snacking. We have also been extremely impressed with the team at Inventure and look forward to working together going forward.”
After operating for about a decade as Poore Brothers, the Inventure Group was formed in 2006 as part of the company’s transition from a regional potato chip producer to a national marketer of snack foods. Today, the company is a marketer and manufacturer of specialty food brands in better-for-you and indulgent categories under a variety of company-owned and licensed brand names, including Boulder Canyon Foods, TGI Fridays, Nathan’s Famous, Vidalia Brands, Poore Brothers, Tato Skins and Bob’s Texas Style. The company has manufacturing facilities in Arizona and Indiana.
 |
| Terry McDaniel, c.e.o. of Inventure Foods |
“This transaction is the result of diligent analysis and thoughtful strategic deliberations by our board of directors and the result of the strategic and financial review we initiated in July 2016,” said Terry McDaniel, c.e.o. of Inventure Foods. “Our board, with the advice of independent advisers, determined that this transaction will deliver immediate and certain cash value to our stockholders and new opportunities for our snack brands.”
Utz Quality Foods has a rich history in the snack foods industry in the United States. Founded in 1921, Utz is the largest privately-held and family-managed branded salty snack company in the United States, producing a full line of products, including potato chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, corn chips, tortillas, veggie stix/straws, popcorn, onion rings, pork skins and more. Its brands include Utz, Golden Flake, Zapp’s, “Dirty” Potato Chips, Good Health, Bachman, Bachman Jax, Wachusett and Snikiddy. Utz operates 10 facilities located in Pennsylvania, Colorado, Louisiana, Massachusetts and Alabama.
In September, Utz appointed a trio of consumer packaged goods veterans to its executive leadership team. Thomas Flocco was named president and chief operating officer, while Mark Schreiber was named executive vice-president and chief customer officer and Jay Thompson was hired as executive vice-president and chief financial officer.
