Teachers’ buys larger stake in snack maker Shearer’s Foods
by Canadian Manufacturing Staff
Ontario Teachers Pension Plan first acquired stake in Ohio-based Shearer's Foods in 2012; terms of latest deal not disclosed
TORONTO—The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) now holds “a significant majority ownership” in an Ohio-based snack food maker after acquiring an undisclosed additional stake in the company.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The OTPP acquired the stake in Shearer’s Foods, Inc. from private equity firm Wind Point Partners, which it partnered with in its initial acquisition of an undisclosed percentage of the company in 2012.
Since then, Shearer’s completed the acquisitions of Snyder’s-Lance, Inc., which manufactures a variety of crack, pretzel and chip brands, including Snyder’s of Hannover, in a US$430-millon deal, and pasta maker Medallion Foods, Inc. for US$33.5 million.
The acquisitions doubled the size of Shearer’s and “significantly” expanded its “private label and contract manufacturing product offerings,” according to the OTPP.
“We have created significant value over the past two years deepening Shearer’s longstanding relationships with branded companies and retailers by broadening our scope, both through internal initiatives designed to help our customers grow and by expanding our national manufacturing footprint and diversifying our product offerings,” CJ Fraleigh, Shearer’s president and chair, said in a statement from the pension fund manager.
“We are proud of the transformation accomplished while partnering with Wind Point and Teachers’, and we believe this transaction has long-term positive implications for our customers and associates.”
Shearer’s operates manufacturing facilities in Ohio, Texas, Arkansas, Oregon, Virginia, Iowa, and a plant in Guelph, Ont.
