Pinnacle Foods

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Pinnacle Foods, Inc.
TypeSubsidiary
ISINUS72348P1049
IndustryFood
Founded1998; 23 years ago (1998) (as Vlasic Foods International)
HeadquartersParsippany, NJ, U.S.
Key people
List
ProductsFrozen food, condiments, baking mixes, packaged meat
Brands
List
RevenueIncrease US$3.144 billion (2017)
Number of employees
4,900[1] (2017)
ParentConagra Brands
(2018–pres)

Pinnacle Foods, Inc., is a packaged foods company headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, that specializes in shelf-stable and frozen foods. The company became a subsidiary of Conagra Brands on October 26, 2018.

History[]

The company was founded in 1998 as "Vlasic Foods International", acquiring the Swanson TV dinners, Open Pit and Vlasic Pickles brands from the Campbell Soup Company.

In 2007, Pinnacle Foods was acquired by the Blackstone Group, a New York City-based private equity firm.[2]

In 2013, Pinnacle Foods' Parsippany office was named Inc. Magazine's "World's Coolest Office."[3] That year, Pinnacle Foods had its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, raising approximately $580 million for its owners, the private equity Blackstone Group. Shares began trading under the ticker symbol PF on April 4 at the upper range of its offering, $20 per share, thereby valuing Pinnacle Foods with a market capitalization of $2.3 billion.[4]

In May 2014, Hillshire Brands announced it was buying Pinnacle Foods for $4.23 billion in a cash and stock deal. Hillshire Brands' portfolio includes Jimmy Dean, Ball Park, and Sara Lee.[5] But on June 30, 2014, it was announced that Pinnacle Foods had scrapped its sale to Hillshire Brands, which would allow Hillshire Brands to be acquired by Tyson Foods. Pinnacle was to receive a $163 million payment as part of the breakup from Hillshire, and also receive an expected $25 million in one-time costs connected to the scotched sale.[6][7]

In March 2016, it was announced that CEO Robert Gamgort would be leaving Pinnacle Foods to be the new CEO of Keurig Green Mountain.[8] Mark A. Clouse, formerly of Mondelēz, succeeded Gamgort as CEO of the company.[9]

In June 2018, Conagra announced it would acquire Pinnacle Foods for $8.1 billion.[10] The sale was completed on October 26, 2018 and the company was delisted in the NYSE.[11]

Other acquisitions[]

In March 2004, Pinnacle Foods acquired Aurora Foods of St. Louis, Missouri.[12] Two years later, it acquired the food business of Dial Corporation including the Armour Star canned meats business.[13]

In 2009, the Swanson brand was discontinued in the United States, but remained in use in Canada. That same year, Pinnacle Foods also acquired Birds Eye Foods, Inc. adding a mix of frozen and specialty brands to its portfolio.

In November 2014, Pinnacle Foods announced that it would acquire Garden Protein International, Inc., maker of Gardein, from founder Yves Potvin, for $154 million.[14]

In November 2015, Pinnacle Foods announced that it would be acquiring Boulder Brands for around $710 million, as part of the company's strategy to expand its health and wellness services.[15]

Brand portfolio[]

Grocery[]

  • Armour Star (acquired from The Dial Corporation in 2006)
  • Appian Way Pizza Crust Mix (acquired from The Dial Corporation in 2006)
  • Banner Sausage (acquired from The Dial Corporation in 2006)
  • Bernstein's dressings
  • Brooks beans and chili
  • Cream Cornstarch (acquired from The Dial Corporation in 2006)
  • Duncan Hines including Duncan Hines Comstock, Duncan Hines Wilderness (acquired from Procter & Gamble in 1997)
  • Log Cabin Syrup (acquired from Kraft Foods)
  • Milwaukee's Pickles
  • Mrs. Butterworth's (acquired from Unilever)
  • Nalley
  • Open Pit barbecue sauce
  • Smart Balance
  • Vlasic
  • Wish-Bone (acquired from Unilever in 2013[16])

Frozen[]

Boulder[]

  • Earth Balance
  • EVOL
  • Gardein
  • Glutino
  • Udi's

Specialty[]

  • El Restaurante
  • Erin's
  • Hawaiian Kettle Style Potato Chips and Snack Rings[17]
  • Husman's
  • Snyder of Berlin (no longer related to Snyder's of Hanover)
  • Tim's Cascade Snacks

References[]

  1. ^ "Pinnacle Foods". Fortune. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
  2. ^ "Blackstone Group buying Pinnacle Foods". NBC News. 12 February 2007. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  3. ^ "World's Coolest Offices 2018". Inc.com. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  4. ^ "Pinnacle Foods Sets Its Shares At High End". The New York Times. 2013-03-28. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  5. ^ "Hillshire Brands Buying Pinnacle Foods for $4.23B". ABCNews.go.com. ABC News. May 12, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
  6. ^ "Pinnacle Foods Lets Hillshire out of Sale Pact". ABC News. Associated Press. 30 June 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  7. ^ Team, Trefis. "Hillshire Brands Moves To End Pinnacle Deal In Light Of Tyson Foods' Offer". Forbes. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  8. ^ "Pinnacle Foods CEO Robert Gamgort to head Keurig Green Mountain". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  9. ^ Jamerson, Joshua (2016-04-27). "Pinnacle Foods Taps Mondelez's Clouse as CEO". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
  10. ^ Naidu, Richa. "Conagra to buy Pinnacle for $8.1 billion, creating frozen food powerhouse". Reuters U.S. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  11. ^ "PINNACLE FOODS INC. : Termination of a Material Definitive Agreement, Completion of Acquisition or Disposition of Assets, Notice of Delisting or Failure to Satisfy a Continued Listing Rule or Standard; Transfer of Listing, Material Modification to Rights of Security Holders, Changes in Control or Registrant, Change in Directors or Principal Officers, Amendments to Articles of Inc. or Bylaws; Change in Fiscal Year, Other Events, Financial Statements and Exhibits (form 8-K)". 26 October 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  12. ^ "Aurora Foods emerges from bankruptcy, completes merger". St. Louis Business Journal. 22 March 2004. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  13. ^ "Pinnacle Foods Group acquires Armour dry food products". Food Ingredients First. 2 March 2006. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  14. ^ Pinnacle Foods to buy Canadian protein foods maker Gardein. Reuters, 14 November 2014
  15. ^ "Pinnacle Foods to buy Boulder Brands to boost health offerings". Reuters. 24 November 2015.
  16. ^ "Pinnacle Foods to buy Unilever's Wish-Bone salad dressing business".
  17. ^ "Home | Conagra Brands". www.conagrabrands.com.

External links[]

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