Hershey To Buy ONE Brands

(RTTNews) - Hershey Co. (HSY) Tuesday said it agreed to buy ONE Brands LLC, the maker of a line of low-sugar, high-protein nutrition bars, for about $400 million.

"ONE's portfolio of great tasting nutrition bars, with indulgent flavors such as Birthday Cake, Maple Glazed Doughnut and Peanut Butter Pie, will be a strong strategic fit within our overall innovative snacking powerhouse vision," said Mary Beth West, Hershey's Chief Growth Officer. "Our beloved confection brands will continue to be the engine that drives our business while we broaden our better-for-you portfolio, offering more snacking choices for more consumers."

The acquisition is expected to enable Hershey to provide a competitive offering of brands in the nutrition bar category. ONE Brands will complement the company's existing Oatmega business, which was acquired as part of the 2018 acquisition of Amplify Snack Brands, Inc., and its recent investment in FULFIL Holdings limited, a European leader in great tasting, vitamin-fortified, high-protein bars.

ONE Brands purchase price is $397 million, or about $325 million net of tax benefits. The transaction will be financed with cash on hand as well as short-term borrowings.

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019. ONE Brands acquisition is expected to be slightly accretive to earnings in the first full year post closing.