TreeHouse Foods Completes Acquisition of Farmer Brothers' Northlake, Texas Coffee Facility

Rhea-AI Summary

TreeHouse Foods completes acquisition of coffee facility and business from Farmer Brothers

Positive

• The acquisition of the Northlake, Texas coffee facility and business brings roasting, grinding, flavoring, and blending capabilities to TreeHouse Foods, enhancing their private label coffee offering. The acquisition is expected to drive greater category depth and mutually profitable growth for customers, potentially positively impacting stock price.

Negative

• No negative takes found.

OAK BROOK, Ill., June 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- TreeHouse Foods, Inc. (NYSE: THS) announced that it has completed the acquisition of the Northlake, Texas, coffee facility and non-Direct Store Delivery coffee business (referred to as Direct Ship) from Farmer Brothers Company (Nasdaq: FARM) for approximately $100 million.   

The state-of-the-art Northlake facility, built in 2017, brings roasting, grinding, flavoring and blending capabilities to the TreeHouse Foods portfolio to complement the Company's existing single-serve pod and ready-to-drink coffee businesses. The acquisition enables TreeHouse Foods to deliver greater category depth in an end-to-end private label coffee offering – from bagged whole bean and ground coffee to pods and ready-to-drink beverages.

"I want to welcome the newest members of our coffee team," said Steve Oakland, Chairman, CEO and President of TreeHouse Foods.  "Acquiring the Northlake, Texas facility enables us to drive greater category depth through green coffee purchasing, roasting, grinding, flavoring and assortment – and represents an exciting step forward as we strengthen our strategic capabilities as a focused, private label snacking and beverages leader.  By becoming more vertically integrated in coffee, we are better positioned to drive mutually profitable growth for our customers and deliver greater value to our shareholders."

Farmer Brothers has historically been a bulk ground coffee supplier to TreeHouse Foods for single-serve pods and ready-to-drink beverages. Following closing, the acquisition is expected to create greater profit capture in the supply chain. TreeHouse Foods will also assume select customer relationships and retain approximately 180 team members from Farmer Brothers to support operations at the facility.

Approximately $30 million of inventory was acquired, and the acquisition was financed under the TreeHouse Foods revolving credit facility.  Additional financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About TreeHouse Foods
TreeHouse Foods, Inc. is a leading private label food and beverage manufacturer in North America. Our purpose is to engage and delight – one customer at a time. Through our customer focus and category experience, we strive to deliver excellent service and build capabilities and insights to drive mutually profitable growth for TreeHouse and our customers. Our purpose is supported by investment in depth, capabilities and operational efficiencies, which are aimed to capitalize on the long-term growth prospects in the categories in which we operate.

Additional information, including TreeHouse Foods' most recent statements on forms 10-Q and 10-K, may be found at treehousefoods.com.

About Farmer Brothers
Founded in 1912, Farmer Brothers is a national coffee roaster, wholesaler, equipment servicer and distributor of coffee, tea and culinary products. The company's product lines, include organic, Direct Trade and sustainably produced coffee. With a robust line of coffee, hot and iced teas, cappuccino mixes, spices and baking/biscuit mixes, Farmer Brothers delivers extensive beverage planning services and culinary products to its U.S.-based customers. It serves a wide variety of customers, from small independent restaurants and foodservice operators to large institutional buyers, such as restaurant, department and convenience store chains, hotels, casinos, healthcare facilities and gourmet coffee houses, as well as grocery chains with private brand coffee and consumer branded coffee and tea products, and foodservice distributors.

Headquartered in Northlake, Texas, Farmer Brothers generated net sales of $469.2 million in fiscal 2022. The company's primary brands include Farmer Brothers, Artisan Collection by Farmer Brother, Superior, Metropolitan, China Mist and Boyd's.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements and other information are based on our beliefs, as well as assumptions made by us, using information currently available. The words "believe," "estimate," "project," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "intend," "foresee," "should," "would," "could," and similar expressions, as they relate to us, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated, expected, or intended. We do not intend to update these forward-looking statements following the date of this press release.

Such forward-looking statements, because they relate to future events, are by their very nature subject to many important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements contained in this press release and other public statements we make. Such factors include, but are not limited to: risks related to the impact that the divestiture of a significant portion of our Meal Preparation Business or any such divestiture might have on the Company's operations; disruptions or inefficiencies in our supply chain and/or operations; loss of key suppliers; raw material and commodity costs due to inflation; labor strikes or work stoppages; multiemployer pension plans; labor shortages and increased competition for labor; success of our growth, reinvestment, and restructuring programs; our level of indebtedness and related obligations; disruptions in the financial markets; interest rates; changes in foreign currency exchange rates; collectibility of our note receivable, customer concentration and consolidation; competition; our ability to execute on our business strategy; our ability to continue to make acquisitions and execute on divestitures or effectively manage the growth from acquisitions; impairment of goodwill or long lived assets; changes and developments affecting our industry, including customer preferences; the outcome of litigation and regulatory proceedings to which we may be a party; product recalls; changes in laws and regulations applicable to us; shareholder activism; disruptions in or failures of our information technology systems; changes in weather conditions, climate changes, and natural disasters; and other risks that are set forth in the Risk Factors section, the Legal Proceedings section, the Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations section, and other sections of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, and from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). You 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. TreeHouse expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein, to reflect any change in its expectations with regard thereto, or any other change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/treehouse-foods-completes-acquisition-of-farmer-brothers-northlake-texas-coffee-facility-301868353.html

SOURCE TreeHouse Foods, Inc.

FAQ

What did TreeHouse Foods acquire from Farmer Brothers?

TreeHouse Foods acquired the Northlake, Texas coffee facility and non-Direct Store Delivery coffee business from Farmer Brothers.

How much did TreeHouse Foods pay for the acquisition?

TreeHouse Foods paid approximately $100 million for the acquisition.

What capabilities does the Northlake facility bring to TreeHouse Foods?

The Northlake facility brings roasting, grinding, flavoring, and blending capabilities to TreeHouse Foods.

How will the acquisition benefit TreeHouse Foods?

The acquisition is expected to drive greater category depth and mutually profitable growth for TreeHouse Foods, enhancing their private label coffee offering.

How was the acquisition financed?

The acquisition was financed under the TreeHouse Foods revolving credit facility.