Utz Quality Food snaps up Inventure Foods in $165mn bid

Utz Quality Foods has announced that it has acquired rival snack giant Inventure foods in a $165mn deal. 

Phoenix-based Inventure produces company branded and licensed snacks such as Boulder Canyon Foods, Jamba, Nathan’s Famous and TGI Friday's. 

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Under the agreement, the $165mn purchase price of Inventure will include the acceptation of about $75mn of debt, net of cash, around $8mn of Inventures estimated closing costs and $3mn due to equity award holders. 

Hanover-based Utz is thought to be the largest privately held and family-managed branded salty snack manufacturer in the US with brands including Bachman, Zapp’s and Dirty. 

“We are tremendously excited about the opportunity to acquire Inventure Foods,” said Dylan Lissette, chief executive officer of Utz Quality Foods. 

“The company’s speciality 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.”

Earlier this year, Inventure announced the sale of its frozen vegetable business to Pictsweet Co., and its frozen foods business to Oregan Potato Co. 

“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, CEO 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.”