USA: Utz Brands sells brands, facilities to Our Home

Utz Brands, the US snacks company, has announced it is selling a number of brands and facilities to Our Home,  an operating company of “better-for-you” brands, for a cash consideration of $182.5 million.

Under the agreement, affiliates of Our Home have agreed to purchase the Good Health and RW Garcia brands, the Lincolnton (NC) and Lititz (PA) manufacturing facilities and certain related assets, and assume Utz Brands’ Las Vegas, NV facility’s lease and manufacturing operations.

Utz Brands described the move as an “acceleration of [its] supply chain transformation and brand portfolio strategy”. It originally bought the RW Garcia brand in 2021.

Post-closing, the parties will operate under reciprocal co-manufacturing agreements under which Our Home will co-manufacture certain Utz Brands products, and vice versa.

Commenting on the move, Utz Brands CEO Howard Friedman said, “We expect these transactions to deliver on our supply chain transformation and value creation initiatives, to fast-track our deleveraging timeline by a full year, and to accelerate our brand portfolio strategy to better optimize for growth. With this important step in the optimization of our supply chain and brand portfolio, together with immediate benefits to free cash flow from lower interest expense, we are well-positioned to execute against our expansion plans across the U.S. and deliver on our margin target”.

Source: Utz Brands