Permira Buys PopCorners as Dealmakers Remain Hungry for Healthy Options
Campbell Soup and ConAgra have also made better-for-you food deals recently
By Allison Collins
June 10, 2015
As dealmakers continue to crave better-for-you snack deals, private equity firm Permira is buying Medora Snacks LLC and Ideal Snacks Holding Corp.
Medora, headquartered in Middletown, New York, makes PopCorners, PopCorners Whole Grain, Pop Crinkles and popped bean chips. Liberty, New York-based Ideal is a contract manufacturer for popped snacks. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
London-based Permira will combine the two companies into one holding company called BFY Holdings I LLC, based in New York. Since 1985, Permira has raised more than $28 billion and invested in more than 200 companies. In October, Permira agreed to sell specialty chemicals maker Arysta LifeScience Ltd. to Platform Specialty Products. In March 2014, the firm sold Renaissance Learning to Hellman & Friedman. The firm's other portfolio companies include Ancestry.com, Dr. Martens, LegalZoom and Telepizza.
In the food sector, dealmakers are mirroring consumers as they shift their choices towards healthier snack options.
"We are in the midst of a seismic shift within the food industry in which consumers are actively seeking out healthier snack products while not sacrificing taste," says Permira partner John Coyle.
Recent better-for-you food deals include Campbell Soup Co.'s (NYSE: CPB) acquisition of Garden Fresh Gourmet for $231 million, announced on June 9, and ConAgra Foods Inc.'s (NYSE: CAG) purchase of organic frozen meal business Blake's All Natural Foods. For more on the trend, see Snack Time.
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