OAK BROOK, Ill., May 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — TreeHouse Foods, Inc. (NYSE: THS) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal business to Post Holdings. The business is based in St. Louis, Missouri. Sales of the business were approximately $260 million in 2018. Financial terms of the sale were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2019.
“The ready-to-eat cereal category represents nearly $9 billion in revenue at retail, and therefore, the business has a long runway for growth. We believe that the RTE business has a wonderful opportunity to flourish under Post’s ownership,” said Steve Oakland, CEO and President of TreeHouse Foods. “Selling the ready-to-eat cereal business allows us to bring greater focus to the TreeHouse organization and represents another step on our portfolio optimization journey.”
TreeHouse acquired the ready-to-eat cereal business from ConAgra Brands as part of the Private Brands transaction in 2016. The business has three manufacturing plants – Lancaster, Ohio; Sparks, Nevada; and Battle Creek, Michigan. TreeHouse previously announced it is closing the Battle Creek, Mich. plant, which is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2019. There are approximately 400 hourly and 100 salaried employees who will transition from TreeHouse Foods to Post Holdings. Both companies are committed to a smooth transition for employees, customers and consumers.
William Blair served as financial advisor and Winston & Strawn as legal advisor for TreeHouse Foods.
ABOUT POST HOLDINGS
Post Holdings, Inc., headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, is a consumer packaged goods holding company operating in the center-of-the-store, refrigerated, foodservice, food ingredient, and active nutrition food categories. Through its Post Consumer Brands business, Post is a leader in the North American ready-to-eat cereal category offering a broad portfolio including recognized brands such as Honey Bunches of Oats®, Pebbles™, Great Grains® and Malt-O-Meal® bag cereal. Post also is a leader in the United Kingdom ready-to-eat cereal category with the iconic Weetabix® brand. As a leader in refrigerated foods, Post delivers innovative, value-added egg and refrigerated potato products to the foodservice channel and the retail refrigerated side dish category, offering side dishes and egg, sausage and cheese products through the Bob Evans®, Simply Potatoes®, All Whites®, Better’n Eggs® and Crystal Farms® brands. Post’s Active Nutrition platform brings good energy to a wide range of consumers looking to live healthy lives through brands such as Premier Protein®, PowerBar® and Dymatize®. Post participates in the private brand food category through its investment with Thomas H. Lee Partners in 8th Avenue Food & Provisions, a leading, private brand centric, consumer products holding company. For more information, visit www.postholdings.com.
ABOUT TREEHOUSE FOODS
TreeHouse Foods, Inc. is a leading manufacturer and distributor of private label packaged foods and beverages in North America. We have over 40 production facilities across the United States, Canada and Italy, and our vision is to be the undisputed solutions leader for custom brands for our customers. Our product portfolio includes shelf stable, refrigerated, frozen and fresh products, including baked goods (refrigerated and frozen dough, cereal, cookies, crackers, pretzels and snack bars); beverages (broth, single serve hot beverages, creamers and powdered drinks); meal solutions (dressings, hot cereal, macaroni and cheese, pasta, pickles, sauces and side dishes); and healthy snacks (dried fruits and vegetables, nuts and trail mix). We have a comprehensive offering of packaging formats and flavor profiles, and we also offer natural, organic and preservative-free ingredients across almost our entire portfolio. Our purpose is to make high quality food and beverages affordable to all.
SOURCE TreeHouse Foods, Inc.
No comments:
Post a Comment