ORRVILLE, Ohio, Nov. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The J. M.
Smucker Company (NYSE: SJM) (the "Company") today announced it has
entered into a definitive agreement to sell its U.S. canned milk
brands and operations to Eagle Family Foods Group LLC, a subsidiary
of funds affiliated with Kelso & Company. The transaction
includes canned milk products that are primarily sold in U.S.
retail and foodservice channels under the Eagle
Brand® and
Magnolia® brands, along with other branded
and private label trade names, with annual net sales of
approximately $200 million. The
Company's manufacturing facilities in El
Paso, Texas, and Seneca,
Missouri, will be included in the transaction. The
transaction does not include the Company's canned milk business in
Canada.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of calendar
2015. Additional terms and conditions of the transaction were not
disclosed. The Company will discuss the transaction's impact on its
full-year fiscal 2016 outlook when it releases its fiscal 2016
second quarter results on November 19,
2015.
THE J. M. SMUCKER COMPANY FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS
This press release contains
forward-looking statements that are subject to known and unknown
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from any future results, performance, or achievements
expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements. Readers
should understand that the risks, uncertainties, factors, and
assumptions listed and discussed in this press release, including
the following important factors and assumptions, could affect the
future results of the Company and could cause actual results to
differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking
statements: the ability of the Company to successfully complete the
divestiture of its U.S. canned milk brands and operations in a
timely and cost-effective manner; the ability of the Company to
generate sufficient cash flow to meet its deleveraging objectives
within the time frames currently anticipated; a change in outlook
or downgrade in the Company's public credit ratings by a rating
agency below investment grade; volatility of commodity markets from
which the Company's raw materials are procured and the related
impact on costs; risks associated with derivative and purchasing
strategies employed by the Company to manage commodity pricing
risks, including the risk that such strategies could result in
significant losses and adversely impact the Company's liquidity;
the Company's ability to successfully implement and realize the
full benefit of price changes that are intended to ultimately fully
recover cost, including the competitive, retailer, and consumer
response, and the impact of the timing of the price changes to
profits and cash flow in a particular period; the success and cost
of marketing and sales programs and strategies intended to promote
growth in the Company's businesses, including the introduction of
new products; general competitive activity in the market, including
competitors' pricing practices and promotional spending levels; the
impact of accidents, extreme weather, and natural disasters,
including crop failures and storm damage; the concentration of
certain of the Company's businesses with key customers and
suppliers, and the ability to manage and maintain key
relationships; 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 by the Company with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form
10-K.
Readers are cautioned not to unduly rely on such forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date made, when evaluating
the information presented in this press release. The Company does
not undertake any obligation to update or revise these
forward-looking statements to reflect new events or
circumstances.
ABOUT THE J. M. SMUCKER COMPANY
For more than 115
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 with projected annual net sales of approximately
$8 billion. In consumer foods and
beverages, its brands include Smucker's®,
Folgers®, Jif®, Dunkin' Donuts®,
Crisco®, Pillsbury®, R.W.
Knudsen Family®, Hungry Jack®,
Cafe 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. Borden® and
Elsie® are also trademarks used under
license.
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.
Logo -
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20071219/SMUCKERLOGO
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-j-m-smucker-company-to-divest-its-us-canned-milk-brands-and-operations-300171097.html
SOURCE The J. M. Smucker Company