Carl E. Lee, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of Snyder's of Hanover, recently announced the company's intention to acquire Utz Quality Foods, Inc. pending clearance from the Federal Trade Commission.
Snyder's of Hanover's Chairman of the Board, Mike Warehime, added that "this is the perfect marriage of two leading snack food companies whose relative business strengths are highly complementary in terms of product line and geographic reach. Merging our companies together will bring out the best in our respective brands, our people, and our cultures and improve our long-term viability in the snack food industry."
Snyder's of Hanover plans to continue operations in all four of the Hanover, PA Utz plants, plus the Snyder's of Hanover's plant, and there will be no anticipated job losses, according to Lee. "In fact," added Lee, "As we develop our expanded portfolio of brands, we believe this will lead to additional sales and manufacturing jobs over time as we grow both brands and expand the new company."
The acquisition will help to strengthen both the Utz and Snyder's distribution systems and will add to the depth and breadth of Snyder's of Hanover's product line. Currently, Snyder's of Hanover produces pretzels under it's flagship "Snyder's of Hanover" brand, but also owns Krunchers! Kettle Chips, O-KE-DOKE popcorn, and Jays Potato Chips from a 2007 acquisition of Chicago based Jays Foods and its production plant in Jeffersonville, IN., which will continue its operations, as well.
As is typical for a transaction of this size, the acquisition is subject to review and clearance by the Federal Trade Commission. The parties plan to close the transaction as soon as possible following FTC clearance and expect to do so by the end of the year.