Pinnacle Foods

Pinnacle Foods, Inc., is a packaged foods company headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, that specializes in shelf-stable and frozen foods. The company became a subsidiary of Conagra Brands on October 26, 2018.

Pinnacle Foods, Inc.
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryFood
Founded1998 (1998) (as Vlasic Foods International)
Fateacquired by Conagra Brands
HeadquartersParsippany, NJ, U.S.
Key people
List
ProductsFrozen food, condiments, baking mixes, packaged meat
Brands
List
RevenueIncrease US$3.144 billion (2017)
Number of employees
4,900[1] (2017)
ParentConagra Brands
(2018–present)
Websitepinnaclefoods.com

History

The company was founded in 1998 as "Vlasic Foods International", acquiring the Swanson TV dinners, Open Pit, and Vlasic Pickles brands from the Campbell Soup Company. Between 2001 and 2007 the spinoff of former Campbell Soup Company branded food lines was owned by the Metropoulos Group which named it Pinnacle Foods.[2]

In 2007, Pinnacle Foods was acquired by the Blackstone Group, a New York City-based private equity firm.[3]

In 2013, Pinnacle Foods' Parsippany office was named Inc. Magazine's "World's Coolest Office."[4] That year, Pinnacle Foods had its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, raising approximately $580 million for its owners, the private equity Blackstone Group. Shares began trading under the ticker symbol PF on April 4 at the upper range of its offering, $20 per share, thereby valuing Pinnacle Foods with a market capitalization of $2.3 billion.[5]

In May 2014, Hillshire Brands announced it was buying Pinnacle Foods for $4.23 billion in a cash and stock deal. Hillshire Brands' portfolio includes Jimmy Dean, Ball Park, and Sara Lee.[6] But on June 30, 2014, it was announced that Pinnacle Foods had scrapped its sale to Hillshire Brands, which would allow Hillshire Brands to be acquired by Tyson Foods. Pinnacle was to receive a $163 million payment as part of the breakup from Hillshire, and also receive an expected $25 million in one-time costs connected to the scotched sale.[7][8]

In March 2016, it was announced that CEO Robert Gamgort would be leaving Pinnacle Foods to be the new CEO of Keurig Green Mountain.[9] Mark A. Clouse, formerly of Mondelēz, succeeded Gamgort as CEO of the company.[10]

In June 2018, Conagra announced it would acquire Pinnacle Foods for $8.1 billion.[11] The sale was completed on October 26, 2018 and the company was delisted in the NYSE.[12]

Other acquisitions

In March 2004, Pinnacle Foods acquired Aurora Foods of St. Louis, Missouri.[13] Two years later, it acquired the food business of Dial Corporation including the Armour Star canned meats business.[14]

In 2009, the Swanson brand was discontinued in the United States, but remained in use in Canada. That same year, Pinnacle Foods also acquired Birds Eye Foods, Inc. adding a mix of frozen and specialty brands to its portfolio.

In November 2014, Pinnacle Foods announced that it would acquire Garden Protein International, Inc., maker of Gardein, from founder Yves Potvin, for $154 million.[15]

In November 2015, Pinnacle Foods announced that it would be acquiring Boulder Brands for around $710 million, as part of the company's strategy to expand its health and wellness services.[16]

Brands

Grocery

Frozen

Boulder Brands
  • Earth Balance
  • EVOL
  • Gardein
  • Glutino
  • Udi's

Specialty
  • El Restaurante
  • Erin's
  • Hawaiian Kettle Style Potato Chips and Snack Rings[18]
  • Husman's
  • Snyder of Berlin (no longer related to Snyder's of Hanover)
  • Tim's Cascade Snacks

Frozen

References
  1. "Pinnacle Foods". Fortune. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  2. Metropoulos Group:Case Studies:Pinnacle Foods
  3. "Blackstone Group buying Pinnacle Foods". NBC News. February 12, 2007. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  4. "World's Coolest Offices 2018". Inc.com. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  5. "Pinnacle Foods Sets Its Shares At High End". The New York Times. March 28, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  6. "Hillshire Brands Buying Pinnacle Foods for $4.23B". ABCNews.go.com. ABC News. May 12, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
  7. "Pinnacle Foods Lets Hillshire out of Sale Pact". ABC News. Associated Press. June 30, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  8. Team, Trefis. "Hillshire Brands Moves To End Pinnacle Deal In Light Of Tyson Foods' Offer". Forbes. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  9. "Pinnacle Foods CEO Robert Gamgort to head Keurig Green Mountain". USA TODAY. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  10. Jamerson, Joshua (April 27, 2016). "Pinnacle Foods Taps Mondelez's Clouse as CEO". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  11. Naidu, Richa. "Conagra to buy Pinnacle for $8.1 billion, creating frozen food powerhouse". Reuters U.S. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  12. "PINNACLE FOODS INC. : Termination of a Material Definitive Agreement, Completion of Acquisition or Disposition of Assets, Notice of Delisting or Failure to Satisfy a Continued Listing Rule or Standard; Transfer of Listing, Material Modification to Rights of Security Holders, Changes in Control or Registrant, Change in Directors or Principal Officers, Amendments to Articles of Inc. or Bylaws; Change in Fiscal Year, Other Events, Financial Statements and Exhibits (form 8-K)". October 26, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  13. "Aurora Foods emerges from bankruptcy, completes merger". St. Louis Business Journal. March 22, 2004. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  14. "Pinnacle Foods Group acquires Armour dry food products". Food Ingredients First. March 2, 2006. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  15. Pinnacle Foods to buy Canadian protein foods maker Gardein. Reuters, 14 November 2014
  16. "Pinnacle Foods to buy Boulder Brands to boost health offerings". Reuters. November 24, 2015.
  17. "Pinnacle Foods to buy Unilever's Wish-Bone salad dressing business". Reuters. August 12, 2013.
  18. "Home | Conagra Brands". www.conagrabrands.com.
  19. "Aunt Jemima—Our History". Quaker Oats. Archived from the original on August 23, 2007.
  20. Beach, Coral (May 10, 2017). "Pinnacle discontinues recalled Aunt Jemima breakfast products". Food Safety News. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  21. Karimi, Faith (May 6, 2017). "Aunt Jemima frozen pancakes, waffles and French toast recalled". CNN. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  • Official website
    • Historical business data for Pinnacle Foods Inc.:
    • SEC filings
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