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Utz Brands, a Pennsylvania maker of potato chips and other salty snacks, is going private in a merger with German savory snack maker Intersnack Group GmbH & Co. KG.
The announcement sent Utz shares soaring 89.5%, to $14.12 a share, and they closed up 88.7% to their highest close in almost a year, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Tuesday’s trading volume was its highest on record.
Utz’s Rice and Lissette family entities will retain a 50% ownership stake in the combined company, and Intersnack Group will own the other half.
Intersnack Group, which started out as a family-owned German potato chip manufacturer, is buying all of Utz’s class A common stock for $14.25 a share in cash, about a 91% premium over Utz’s closing price of $7.45 a share on Monday, and an enterprise value of about $2.9 billion.
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, pending regulatory approvals and a positive vote by holders of a majority of the company’s shareholders.
Utz stock is up 35.5% this year, but down 3% over the past 12 months, and down 53.2% from its all-time closing high of $30.03 on May 3, 2021.
TD Cowen analysts led by Robert Moskow wrote that although the 12-times Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) is likely below Collier Creek’s original expectations when it helped the Lisette family take Utz public in August 2020, that considering the unexpected business challenges in the snack space posed by weight-loss drugs and the progressive decline in small- to mid-cap valuation premiums, “we view the outcome as favorable.”
Intersnack is one of the leading snack makers in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, with 35 production sites worldwide, they wrote, noting that the merger announcement does not mention synergies from combining the companies, and Intersnack’s lack of presence in the U.S.
TD Cowen estimates that the combined company could have “$6.6 billion in 2026 annual sales, including $1.5 billion from Utz and $5.1 billion from Intersnack.”
Utz’s founders William and Sallie Utz started out frying 50 pounds of thin-sliced potatoes per hour in their kitchen in Hanover, Pa., creating what they called Hanover Home Brands Potato Chips.
Utz boasts more than a dozen U.S. factories that churn out up to three million pounds of snacks a week, including popcorn, cheese balls, pretzels, and snack mixes, Barron’s wrote in 2023. Utz’s other brands include Zapp’s and Boulder Canyon potato chips and On the Border tortilla chips and dips.
An Utz spokesperson declined to comment to Barron’s request for further details, saying that more information would be included in the proxy materials Utz will be filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in coming weeks.
Utz CEO Howard Friedman said in a statement that he was impressed by Intersnack’s “deep understanding of the snacking landscape, experience growing distinctive and longstanding brands, and strength in innovation.”
Intersnack’s marketing, manufacturing, and technology capabilities “will be invaluable as we continue to invest in our brands and accelerate our strategy,” he added.
Dylan Lissette, chairperson of Utz’s board of directors, said Intersnack is a like-minded company with similar family heritage and “a deep appreciation of the power of beloved brands.”
“We look forward to benefitting from Intersnack’s experience and broad resources as we drive our next century of success for the benefit of our customers, our associates, our suppliers and the communities we serve,” Lissette said.
Johan van Winkel, executive chairman of Intersnack Group, said the deal represents a “compelling opportunity” for Intersnack to expand its exposure in the U.S. snacking market, where it currently has no presence. Intersnack Group is primarily in Europe and Oceania
“We see a tremendous opportunity to partner and build on Utz’s strong foundation and help shape the future of snacking in North America,” he said.
Utz said that after Intersnack Group approached the company expressing interest in acquiring a significant portion of it in a going-private transaction, it formed a special committee of Utz directors, independent, and financial advisors to evaluate the transaction and potential alternatives. The committee unanimously recommended it to the board of directors, whose members unanimously approved it.
“This transaction is a great outcome for Class A common stockholders,” said Craig D. Steeneck, chair of the Special Committee, saying the committee thoroughly reviewed the proposal with its advisors and agreed that “this premium, all-cash transaction provides immediate and compelling value for Class A common stockholders.”
For the first quarter ended March 29, Utz reported adjusted earnings of 15 cents a share, down 6.3% from the first quarter of last year, on net sales of $361.3 million, up 2.6%.
Branded salty snacks sales increased 5.2%. Gross profit grew 11.5% to $91.9 million from a year earlier, and gross profit margin increased 2% to 25.4%.
For full-year 2026, Utz had projected organic net sales growth of 2% to 3%, led by continued growth in branded salty snacks.
Utz said it will release its second-quarter financial results on Aug. 5, but will not host an earnings conference call or issue an earnings presentation or prepared remarks. Dylan Lissette will become executive chair of Utz after the transaction closes, and the company will stop being listed on the NYSE.
Write to Janet H. Cho at [email protected]
Corrections & Clarifications: Utz stock is up 35.5% this year, but down 3% over the past 12 months, and down 53.2% from its all-time closing high of $30.03 on May 3, 2021. An earlier version of this story included some outdated stock price information from earlier in the trading day.
