LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y.,
March 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The
Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAIN), a leading organic
and natural products company with operations in North America, Europe and India providing consumers with A Healthier Way
of Life™, today announced the acquisition of the remaining
approximately 80% that it did not already own of EK Holdings, Inc.
and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Empire Kosher Poultry, Inc.
("Empire") based in Mifflintown,
Pennsylvania. The purchase price for the remaining
approximately 80% of Empire was $57.6
million, which includes net debt that was repaid at
closing. In May 2010 Empire
purchased Kosher Valley®, the first brand of certified kosher
antibiotic-free, vegetarian fed and humanely raised all natural
branded chicken and turkey products, from Hain Pure Protein
Corporation ("HPPC") at which time HPPC received a 19% interest in
Empire.
Empire offers a full range of kosher antibiotic- and
hormone-free chicken and turkey products including fresh tray pack,
frozen, deli, fully cooked, gluten-free and organic products in
the United States as well as the
Kosher Valley brand sold exclusively in Whole Foods Market.
Empire generated over $100 million in
net sales in calendar year 2014 and is expected to be accretive to
Hain Celestial's earnings in fiscal year 2016.
"We are excited with our strategic acquisition of Empire, the
leading kosher, antibiotic-free poultry brand in the United States and welcome Jeff Brown and the Empire team to Hain
Celestial. Empire expands our Farm to Table product
offerings, a growing category that appeals to those seeking 'the
pure foods trend,' including our core natural and organic
consumers. We plan to expand the product offerings into deli,
fresh prepared foods and other grocery categories. Additionally, we
expect to leverage our infrastructure to create revenue and
procurement synergies, and we paid an attractive price considering
the multiples being paid for antibiotic-free protein companies
today," said Irwin D. Simon,
Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hain
Celestial.
Jeffrey N. Brown, Chief Executive
Officer, will continue to be responsible for the day-to-day
operations of Empire, reporting to Irwin
Simon. Empire practices sustainable farming, promotes
social justice and strictly observes Jewish dietary laws to produce
among the best tasting and highest quality all-natural poultry
products. Empire chicken and turkey products are not only for
those who keep kosher for religious reasons but for those who want
to eat healthfully and safely as well as responsibly by promoting
worker and animal rights, protecting the environment and supporting
local farmers and their communities.
"Empire products appeal to a broad market of consumers, not just
those seeking our brand and products to observe dietary customs. As
the No. 1 kosher producer of humanely raised hormone-free and
antibiotic-free poultry, I'm pleased to be able to continue the
heritage of Empire under the stewardship of Hain Celestial, where
we feel we can leverage opportunities to expand our distribution,"
said Jeffrey N. Brown, Chief
Executive Officer of Empire.
"Empire is a strong brand in a growing category with a lot of
experience, which provides us with the opportunity to broaden our
existing portfolio of organic and natural brands into healthier
kosher products. Empire should leverage Hain Celestial's
knowhow and infrastructure to pursue new categories and kosher
product offerings," concluded Irwin
Simon.
Hain Celestial has over 2,000 products that are kosher certified
in its branded portfolio of natural and organic products.
According to a December 2011 Mintel
Group Ltd. Report, kosher foods have an aura of purity and
healthfulness, which should continue to fuel growth in the
category. With the acquisition of Tilda® basmati rice in
January 2014, the Company has
expanded its ethnic footprint and product offerings including
geographically into India and the
Middle East, where the Company
believes it may have opportunities to expand its organic and
natural kosher product offerings.
The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.
The Hain Celestial
Group (NASDAQ: HAIN), headquartered in Lake Success, NY, is a leading organic and
natural products company with operations in North America, Europe and India. Hain Celestial
participates in many natural categories with well-known brands that
include Celestial Seasonings®, Earth's Best®, Ella's Kitchen®,
Terra®, Garden of Eatin'®, Sensible Portions®, Health Valley®,
Arrowhead Mills®, MaraNatha®, SunSpire®, DeBoles®, Casbah®, Rudi's
Organic Bakery®, Gluten Free Café™, Hain Pure Foods®, Spectrum®,
Spectrum Essentials®, Walnut Acres Organic®, Imagine®, Almond
Dream®, Rice Dream®, Soy Dream®, WestSoy®, The Greek Gods®,
BluePrint®, FreeBird®, Plainville Farms®, Empire Kosher®, Kosher
Valley®, Yves Veggie Cuisine®, Europe's Best®, Cully & Sully®, New Covent
Garden Soup Co.®, Johnson's Juice Co.®, Farmhouse Fare®,
Hartley's®, Sun-Pat®, Gale's®, Robertson's®, Frank Cooper's®, Linda McCartney®, Lima®,
Danival®, Natumi®, GG UniqueFiber®, Tilda®, JASON®, Avalon
Organics®, Alba Botanica®, Live Clean® and Queen Helene®.
Hain Celestial has been providing A Healthier Way of Life™ since
1993. For more information, visit www.hain.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Certain statements contained in
this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" under
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words
such as "plan," "continue," "expect," "expected," "anticipate,"
"intend", "estimate," "believe," "seek", "may," "potential," "can,"
"positioned," "should," "future," and similar expressions, or the
negative of those expressions, may identify forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements include the
Company's beliefs or expectations relating to (i) accretion and
(ii) growth trends and distribution opportunities. Such
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the Company's
actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements of
the Company, or industry results, to be materially different from
any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such
factors include, among others, the Company's ability to achieve its
guidance for net sales and earnings per diluted share in fiscal
year 2015 given the economic environment in the U.S. and other
markets that it sells products as well as economic, political and
business conditions generally and their effect on the Company's
customers and consumers' product preferences, and the Company's
business, financial condition and results of operations; changes in
estimates or judgments related to the Company's impairment analysis
of goodwill and other intangible assets, as well as with respect to
the Company's valuation allowances of its deferred tax assets; the
Company's ability to implement its business and acquisition
strategy; the ability of the Company's joint venture investment to
successfully execute its business plan; the Company's ability to
realize sustainable growth generally and from investments in core
brands, offering new products and its focus on cost containment,
productivity, cash flow and margin enhancement in particular; the
Company's ability to effectively integrate its acquisitions; the
Company's ability to successfully consummate its proposed
divestitures; the effects on the Company's results of operations
from the impacts of foreign exchange; competition; the success and
cost of introducing new products as well as the Company's ability
to increase prices on existing products; availability and retention
of key personnel; the Company's reliance on third party
distributors, manufacturers and suppliers; the Company's ability to
maintain existing customers and secure and integrate new customers;
the Company's ability to respond to changes and trends in customer
and consumer demand, preferences and consumption; international
sales and operations; changes in fuel, raw material and commodity
costs; changes in, or the failure to comply with, government
regulations; the availability of organic and natural ingredients;
the loss of one or more of the Company's manufacturing facilities;
the ability to use the Company's trademarks; reputational damage;
product liability; product recall or market withdrawal;
seasonality; litigation; the Company's reliance on its information
technology systems; and the other risks detailed from time-to-time
in the Company's reports filed with the SEC, including the
annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2014. As a result of the foregoing
and other factors, no assurance can be given as to future results,
levels of activity and achievements and neither the Company nor any
person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of
these statements.
Logo -
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130502/NY06743LOGO
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hain-celestial-announces-accretive-strategic-acquisition-of-empire-kosher-foods-300045580.html
SOURCE The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.