ConAgra acquires National Pretzel

US-based packaged foods company ConAgra Foods has announced the acquisition of National Pretzel Company from Brookstone for an undisclosed amount.

ConAgra Foods CEO Gary Rodkin said that acquisition of National Pretzel is consistent with the company’s strategies for growth, which include expanding its private label footprint and growing in strategic adjacencies.

"National Pretzel is a leading private-label manufacturer with a strong team in an attractive category," Rodkin said.

The acquisition includes three manufacturing facilities located in Lancaster and Hanover in Pennsylvania, and Visalia in California as well as the HK Anderson and Shultz brands.

National Pretzel produces private label pretzels in various forms for retail and foodservice customers across the US and Canada and reported net sales increase of 7% annually over the last three years, with total net sales of nearly $200m.

On 11 November, ConAgra announced that it has agreed to acquire National Pretzel as part of its strategy to expand its private-label food business.

Although financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, ConAgra spokesman Jeff Mochal said back then that the purchase price exceeds the last two acquisitions made by the company, one of which was the private-label snack-bar maker Elan Nutrition in 2010 for $103m.

This National Pretzel acquisition comes after Ralcorp, a producer of various food products and ready-to-eat cereal products, turned down a $5.18bn takeover bid by ConAgra in September.

ConAgra manufactures several leading retail and foodservice brands such as Banquet, Chef Boyardee, Egg Beaters, Hebrew National, Hunt’s, Marie Callender’s, Orville Redenbacher’s, PAM and Peter Pan.

For the first quarter thar ended 28 August 2011, the company saw a 41.7% drop in its net income to $85.3m, compared with $146.4m in the same period last year.

Caption: ConAgra stokes the growth of its private-label business with the acquisition of National Pretzel.