Bob Evans Farms Completes Sale of Bob Evans Restaurants to Golden Gate Capital and Acquisition of Pineland Farms Potato Compa...
May 01 2017 - 8:31AM
Bob Evans Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:BOBE) today announced the completion
of its previously announced sale of Bob Evans Restaurants to Golden
Gate Capital on April 28, 2017, and the completion today of its
acquisition of Pineland Farms Potato Company.
The sale of Bob Evans Restaurants and the acquisition of
Pineland Farms Potato Company marks the beginning of a new era at
Bob Evans Farms in which the Company will focus exclusively on
realizing the full potential of its BEF Foods business. BEF
Foods is the national market share leader in refrigerated dinner
side dishes, and is also the market share leader in sausage
products in its core Midwest markets. The new Bob Evans,
further strengthened by the manufacturing and intellectual capital
of Pineland Farms Potato Company, is positioned to be a higher
profit and higher growth company that is expected to provide better
returns to shareholders and an enhanced product line for
customers.
President and Chief Executive Officer Mike Townsley said, “We
are pleased the sale of Bob Evans Restaurants and the acquisition
of Pineland Farms Potato Company have been completed as
anticipated. I, along with the rest of the Bob Evans team,
look forward to executing on the expanded set of growth
opportunities ahead. We expect to leverage our acquisition of
Pineland Farms Potato Company and our superior on-shelf performance
to generate continued side-dish sales growth, particularly in
expansion markets and new retail channels such as club and
convenience stores. We also expect to grow in the food
service channel as we partner with restaurant chains to help them
better manage their costs while providing high quality products for
their guests. This strategy is expected to enable a virtuous
cycle of cash flow growth to: reward shareholders; attract and
retain top talent; and fund capital and marketing investments which
we expect to drive both retail and food service sales growth.”
Executive Chairman Doug Benham said, “The Board wishes Saed
Mohseni and the entire Bob Evans Restaurant team continued success
evolving the brand and providing guests with the hospitality and
high-quality food that reflects the heritage of the brand. We
appreciate the extraordinary talent, energy, and vision that Saed
Mohseni brought to Bob Evans and are excited he continues to lead
Bob Evans Restaurants following its acquisition by Golden Gate
Capital. We expect Bob Evans Farms to continue a strong and
growing supply relationship with Bob Evans Restaurants well into
the future. Looking ahead, the Board is eager to continue
partnering with Mike Townsley and Mark Hood as they lead the Bob
Evans Farms team in realizing the full potential of the BEF Foods
business.”
Josh Cohen, Managing Director at Golden Gate Capital, said, “We
are excited to have successfully completed the acquisition of Bob
Evans Restaurants, officially beginning our partnership with this
exceptional brand as it enters an exciting new chapter. We
are confident that Bob Evans Restaurants’ heartfelt hospitality and
farm-fresh quality are key differentiators in today’s family dining
space and we look forward to continuing to work with Saed Mohseni
and the rest of the management team to support the organization’s
long-term growth.”
Chief Administrative and Chief Financial Officer Mark Hood said,
“Following the completion of these transactions, we repaid
outstanding indebtedness with proceeds from the sale of Bob Evans
Restaurants and established a $300 million credit facility maturing
April 28, 2022. Our near-term leverage range of 1.0-2.0x
provides considerable flexibility to continue growing and investing
to deliver on the Bob Evans brand promise. We are also
pleased to announce the Board has approved a special dividend of
$7.50 per share payable June 16, 2017, to stockholders of record at
the close of business on May 30, 2017.”
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC served as financial advisor to the
Company on the sale of Bob Evans Restaurants. UBS Investment
Bank served as financial advisor to Golden Gate Capital.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., and
PNC Bank served as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners for
the establishment of the Company’s new $300 million credit
facility. Additionally, Bank of America, N.A. served as
administrative agent for the facility.
Information concerning this event was filed by the Company today
with the Securities and Exchange Commission and can be obtained at
www.sec.gov.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995Certain statements in this
news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements involve various important
assumptions, risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ
materially from those predicted by the forward-looking statements
because of various factors and possible events. Additional
information about the factors and events that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those predicted by the forward
looking statements, along with certain other risks, uncertainties
and assumptions related to the Company and its business, may be
found in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
April 29, 2016, and in our other filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. We note these factors for investors as
contemplated by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Predicting or identifying all such risk factors is
impossible. Consequently, investors should not consider any such
list to be a complete set of all potential risks and
uncertainties. Forward-looking statements speak only as of
the date on which they are made, and we undertake no obligation to
update any forward-looking statement to reflect circumstances or
events that occur after the date of the statement to reflect
unanticipated events. All subsequent written and oral
forward-looking statements attributable to us or any person acting
on behalf of the Company are qualified by the cautionary statements
in this section.
About Bob Evans Farms, Inc.Bob Evans Farms,
Inc. is a leading producer and distributor of refrigerated potato,
pasta and vegetable-based side dishes, pork sausage, and a variety
of refrigerated and frozen convenience food items under the Bob
Evans and Owens brand names. For more information about Bob
Evans Farms, Inc., visit www.bobevansgrocery.com.
About Pineland Farms Potato CompanyNearly
twenty years ago a group of fourth generation Maine potato farmers
had a vision that would create jobs, business opportunities, and a
brighter future for the young people of northern Maine. In
1997, they built a state-of-the-art potato processing facility that
transformed the thousands of acres of potatoes grown in the region
from a commodity to a refrigerated ready-to-cook product. In
addition to contracting processing potatoes from many family-owned
farms, the company purchased its own farming operation in 2012 and
became a vertically integrated business. The company’s key
products include a wide variety of cut and mashed potato products
serving retail and foodservice customers.
About Golden Gate CapitalGolden Gate Capital is
a San Francisco-based private equity investment firm with over $15
billion of capital under management. The principals of Golden
Gate Capital have a long and successful history of investing across
a wide range of industries and transaction types, including
going-privates, corporate divestitures, and recapitalizations, as
well as debt and public equity investments. Representative
restaurant/retail investments sponsored by Golden Gate Capital
include Red Lobster, California Pizza Kitchen, On The Border
Mexican Grill & Cantina, Eddie Bauer, Express, Pacific Sunwear
and Zales.
BOBE-G
Contacts:
Bob Evans Farms, Inc.
Scott Van Winkle
Managing Director, ICR
(617) 956-6736
scott.vanwinkle@icrinc.com
Golden Gate Capital
Jenny Gore/Alyssa Linn
Sard Verbinnen & Co
(312) 895-4700/(310) 201-2040
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