Utz Quality Foods, LLC, Hanover, Pa., agrees to acquire Inventure Foods Inc., Phoenix, the owner of snack brand Boulder Canyon, in an all-cash transaction of approximately $165 million. An indirect unit of Utz will commence a tender offer to buy all of outstanding shares of Inventure's stock at a price of $4.00 per share in cash, reports this week (Oct. 27) say. The deal includes the assumption of about $75 million of debt, debt-like items, net of cash, about $8 million of estimated closing costs, among others.
Boulder Canyon makes a variety of bagged snacks including potato chips and popcorn, and a line of microwaveable riced vegetable accompaniments such as riced cauliflower, riced carrot and riced sweet potato.
As well as the Boulder Canyon brand, Inventure owns the license to produce TGI Fridays-branded products in the U.S., including potato skins, party bites and onion rings, and other snack brands such as Nathan's Famous.
"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. 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.” said Inventure Foods' CEO Terry McDaniel.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of the fourth quarter.
''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," said Dylan Lissette, CEO of Utz Quality Foods. "We have also been extremely impressed with the team at Inventure, and look forward to working together going forward."
The Inventure Group was formed in 2006 in a transition from operating as a regional potato chip producer to a national marketer of snack foods. The company has manufacturing facilities in Arizona and Indiana.
