Campbell's & Hershey Pick Up New Snack Brands

NORTH AMERICA–Both The Hershey Company and Campbell Soup Company have revealed plans to acquire Amplify Snack Brands and Snyder’s-Lance, respectively, in a move to further bolster their presence in the snack aisle.

April 6, 2018

Campbell's & Hershey Pick Up New Snack Brands

Hershey’s will now own brands like Skinny Pop and Tyrrells, while Campbell’s will own Snyder’s of Hanover and Cape Cod.

First, The Hershey Company has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all outstanding shares of Amplify Snack Brands for $12 per share in cash. Through the agreement, Hershey will acquire the Skinny Pop, Tyrrells, Oatmega, Paqui and other international brands, further strengthening its position in the snack aisle.

In terms of licensing, Hershey most recently expanded its brand beyond the candy aisle and partnered with Chef’d to introduce branded meal kits. The company also revealed plans to grow its flagship Hershey’s Chocolate World in New York City.

The acquisition is scheduled to close in the first quarter of 2018 and is expected to be accretive to adjusted earnings per share-diluted in the first-year post-closing, with accretion increasing in year two.

"The acquisition

of Amplify and its product portfolio is an important step in our journey to becoming an innovative snacking powerhouse as together it will enable us to bring scale and category management capabilities to a key sub-segment of the warehouse snack aisle," says Michele Buck, president and chief executive officer, The Hershey Company. "Hershey's snack mix and meat snacks products, combined with Amplify's Skinny Pop, Tyrrells, Oatmega, Paqui and other international brands, will allow us to capture more consumer snacking occasions by creating a broader portfolio of brands."

Meanwhile, Campbell Soup Company revealed that it will buy Snyder’s-Lance for approximately $50 per share in an all-cash transaction. Snyder’s Lance’s portfolio currently includes brands such as Snyder’s of Hanover, Lance, Kettle Brand, Kettle Chips, Cape Code, Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps, Pop Secret and many more. According to Campbell’s, the acquisition will also accelerate its access to faster-growing distribution channels.

Last year, Snyder’s-Lance entered tapped Brand Central to serve as its licensing agency for its portfolio of brands. The partnership aimed to extend the brands into new food spaces and was initially focused on Snyder’s of Hanover and Cape Cod.

“The acquisition of Snyder’s-Lance will accelerate Campbell’s strategy and is in line with our purpose, ‘real food that matters for life’s moments.’ It will provide our consumers with an even greater variety of better-for-you snacks,” says Denis Morrison, president and chief executive officer, Campbell’s. The combination of Snyder’s-Lance brands with Pepperidge Farm, Arnott’s and Kelsen will create a diversified snacking leader, drive sales growth and create value for shareholders. This acquisition will dramatically transform Campbell, shifting our center of gravity and further diversifying our portfolio into the faster-growing snacking category. We look forward to welcoming Snyder’s-Lance’s employees and their trusted family of leading brands to our company.”