ORRVILLE, Ohio, March 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The J. M. Smucker
Company (NYSE: SJM) ("Company") issued today the following
statement in response to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's
("FTC") announcement that it has filed an administrative complaint
challenging the Company's proposed acquisition of the
Wesson® oil brand from Conagra Brands, Inc.
("Conagra"). The acquisition agreement was previously
announced on May 30, 2017.
"While we respect the FTC's decision, we are disappointed with
this conclusion and strongly believe that the acquisition would
benefit all of our constituents," said Mark
Smucker, Chief Executive Officer. "We certainly
understood this outcome could be possible, and we remain focused on
delivering value to our consumers and customers with our
Crisco® brand and oils business. We are
reviewing the complaint and working with Conagra to assess our next
steps in this process."
About The J. M. Smucker Company
For 120 years, The J.
M. Smucker Company has been committed to offering consumers quality
products that bring families together to share memorable meals and
moments. Today, Smucker is a leading marketer and manufacturer of
consumer food and beverage products and pet food and pet snacks in
North America. In consumer foods
and beverages, its brands include Smucker's®,
Folgers®, Jif®, Dunkin'
Donuts®, Crisco®,
Pillsbury®, R.W. Knudsen
Family®, Hungry Jack®, Café
Bustelo®, Martha
White®, truRoots®,
Sahale Snacks®, Robin
Hood®, and Bick's®. In pet
food and pet snacks, its brands include Meow Mix®,
Milk-Bone®, Kibbles 'n Bits®, Natural
Balance®, and 9Lives®. The Company
remains rooted in the Basic Beliefs of Quality, People,
Ethics, Growth, and Independence established by its
founder and namesake more than a century ago. For more information
about the Company, visit jmsmucker.com.
The J. M. Smucker Company is the owner of all trademarks
referenced herein, except for the following, which are used under
license: Pillsbury® is a trademark of The
Pillsbury Company, LLC and Dunkin' Donuts® is a
registered trademark of DD IP Holder LLC.
Dunkin' Donuts® brand is licensed to The J. M.
Smucker Company for packaged coffee products sold in retail
channels such as grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores,
and drug stores. This information does not pertain to
Dunkin' Donuts® coffee or other products for sale
in Dunkin' Donuts® restaurants.
The J. M. Smucker Company Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release contains forward-looking
statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ materially from future results
expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements. The
risks, uncertainties, important factors, and assumptions listed and
discussed in this press release, which could cause actual results
to differ materially from those expressed, include: the ability of
the parties to satisfy closing conditions, including receipt of
required regulatory approvals, for the transaction; the ability of
Conagra to meet its manufacturing and transition services
requirements during the transition period; the ability to
successfully integrate the acquired business in a timely and
cost-effective manner; the ability to achieve cost efficiencies in
the amounts and within the time frames currently anticipated and to
effectively manage the related one-time costs; the ability to
maintain an investment grade credit rating; the ability to generate
sufficient cash flow to meet deleveraging objectives; volatility of
commodity, energy, and other input costs; risks associated with
derivative and purchasing strategies employed to manage commodity
pricing risks; the ability to implement and realize the full
benefit of price changes that are intended to ultimately fully
recover costs; general competitive activity in the market,
including competitors' pricing practices and promotional spending
levels; the loss of significant customers, a substantial reduction
in orders from these customers, or the bankruptcy of any such
customer; impairments in the carrying value of goodwill, other
intangible assets, or other long-lived assets or changes in useful
lives of other intangible assets; and risks related to other
factors described under "Risk Factors" in other reports and
statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form
10-K. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or
revise these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the
date made, to reflect new events or circumstances.
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SOURCE The J.M. Smucker Company