US – Post Holdings, a leading American consumer packaged goods holding company headquartered in Brentwood, Missouri has agreed to acquire the Peter Pan peanut butter brand from Conagra Brands for an undisclosed sum.
The Peter Pan brand named after the J.M Barry character has been operating in the US for over 100 years, offering a range of smooth and crunchy peanut butter spreads.
All Peter Pan peanut butter products are currently co-manufactured by 8th Avenue Food & Provisions, an affiliate of Post Holdings.
Prior to this agreement, Conagra opted to sell a peanut butter production facility in Illinois to 8th Avenue Food & Provisions last year.
Conagra at the time stated in a market filing that the sale was tied to its move to stop making and selling peanut butter spreads sold under private brand names.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2021, subject to customary closing conditions such as regulatory approval.
The sale of Peter Pan brand follows Conagra’s decision to offload its H.K. Anderson pretzel assets to Utz Quality Foods in September 2020, as well as the sale of its Lender’s Bagels business to Bimbo at the start of the year.
Conagra’s divestments follows the sale of the company’s direct-store-delivery (DSD) snacks business to Utz Quality Foods in September last year – a business unit acquired as part of its purchase of Pinnacle Foods.
Conagra stated at the time that the divestiture would help the company focus on its core business operations.
Following its acquisition, Peter Pan will become part of a family of leading packaged food products which include Honey Bunches of Oats®, Pebbles™, Great Grains® and Malt-O-Meal® bag cereal.
Post Holdings, Inc. the new owner of Peter Pan is also a leader in the United Kingdom ready-to-eat cereal category with the iconic Weetabix® brand.
Post participates in the private brand food category through its investment with third parties in 8th Avenue Food & Provisions, Inc., a leading, private brand centric, consumer products holding company.
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