Irish nutrition company Glanbia has agreed to acquire US-based health-based snacks maker thinkThin for $217m in cash.
thinkThin offers a variety of protein snack bars for consumers seeking convenient, delicious yet wholesome snacks. The company distributes its products in food and retail channels across the US.
Glanbia Group managing director Siobhán Talbot said: "I am very pleased to announce that we have reached agreement to acquire thinkThin. As a premium lifestyle nutrition product with very strong brand equity, thinkThin represents an excellent strategic addition to our portfolio of market leading performance nutrition brands. The transaction is firmly aligned with our overall growth ambitions and positions us well in the fast growing nutrition bar category as well as being value enhancing for our shareholders."
With the acquisition, Glanbia hopes to expand its performance nutrition portfolio in the bar segment and gain foothold in the rapidly expanding nutrition bar category which is valued at $2.8bn in the US retail market. Additionally, Glanbia feels that thinkThin would provide a platform for the Glanbia Performance Nutrition (GPN) to enter the healthy snacks product segment and also enhance the GPN portfolio in the current channels.
The company expects the transaction to be completed before the end of 2015 fiscal year subject to the regulatory approval and customary conditions. The deal will be funded by the existing loan facilities.
thinkThin CEO Michele Kessler said: "As one of the world's leading nutrition companies, Glanbia's strong commitment to innovation make it an ideal partner for thinkThin. We look forward to working with the Glanbia team as we enter the next phase of growth of thinkThin - building on our platform of nutritional bars and hot cereals and growing our passionate consumer following - while helping them expand their consumer base in the U.S. We are also grateful for TSG's guidance, expertise and support, which have enabled us to achieve significant growth over the past few years."
Following the completion of takeover, thinkThin will continue to function from its headquarter at Los Angeles in California. The financial advisors of the deal for Glanbia are Ropes & Gray LLP served as legal counsel and Houlihan Lokey.
Recently, the company along with its JV partners in Southwest Cheese announced a $140m expansion of cheese production plant in Clovis, New Mexico. The expansion is intended to increase milk processing capacity by 30% and is expected to be completed in two years.
The joint venture of Glanbia and the dairy cooperatives of the Greater Southwest Agency, which include Dairy Farmers of America and Select Milk Producers, process over 220 truckloads of milk per day. The JV is considered to be one of the largest cheese and whey protein manufacturing units in the world.
Image: Glanbia to acquire maker of protein snack bar. Photo: Courtesy of nenetus/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
