HANOVER, Pa., and BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Snack makers Utz Quality Foods Inc. and Golden Enterprises Inc. have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Utz will acquire the company, and company stockholders will receive $12 per share in cash, a premium of approximately 71% over the company’s 30-day average closing trading price of $7.
Sold under the tagline “The South’s Original Potato Chip,” the Golden Flake potato chip product lines, as well as its production capabilities, will complement the Utz product portfolio, which includes potato chips, pretzels, popcorn, puffed corn and tortilla chips.
Golden Flake will operate as a separate subsidiary under the leadership of its current management team.
“Golden Flake’s product line, market coverage and manufacturing facilities blend well with Utz’s desire to expand and grow our markets in the South,” said Dylan Lissette, CEO of Hanover, Pa.-based Utz. “Our company has viewed Golden Flake as a leader in the industry. Their culture, quality line of products and dedicated people, through the vision and leadership that Mr. [Sloan] Bashinsky established, is a wonderful fit within our company.”
Mark McCutcheon, CEO of Birmingham, Ala.-based Golden Enterprises, said, “After conducting a review of strategic alternatives by a special committee consisting of independent members of the company’s board of directors, we believe that this is an excellent transaction for our stockholders, our customers and our employees. This merger will allow the Golden Flake brand to continue to grow in our core southeastern markets, while expanding the product selections for our consumers.”
The companies expect the transaction to close in fourth-quarter 2016, subject to antitrust approval and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.
Founded in 1923, Golden Flake Snack Foods Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Golden Enterprises Inc. It produces, markets and distributes snack products in the United States. The company offers salted snack items, such as potato chips, tortilla chips, corn chips, fried pork skins, baked and fried cheese curls, onion rings and puff corn snacks. It also sells canned and jar dips, pretzels, peanut-butter crackers, cheese crackers, dried meat products and nuts packaged by other manufacturers using the Golden Flake label. The company distributes its products to grocery-store chains, discount stores, convenience stores, restaurants and other outlets. It sells its products through its own sales organization and independent distributors to commercial establishments that sell food products in Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky, and South Carolina, as well as parts of Florida, North Carolina, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Virginia, Indiana and Texas.
Utz Quality Foods, a privately owned and family managed company founded in 1921, manufacturers and markets snack foods throughout the United States and internationally. The company produces a full line of snack products, including potato chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, tortillas, veggie snacks, popcorn and more. It distributes its products nationally through grocery, mass-merchant, club stores, convenience stores, drug stores and other channels under the Utz, Zapp’s, Dirty Potato Chips, Good Health, Bachman, Bachman Jax, Wachusett, Snikiddy and other brands.
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