FaegreBD-led Acquisition Named Deal of the Year in M&A Mid-Market Awards

Hormel Foods Corporation's acquisition of Skippy® peanut butter was named Deal of the Year in the 2014 M&A Mid-Market Awards by Mergers & Acquisitions magazine.

Faegre Baker Daniels represented Hormel in purchasing Skippy® from Unilever United States, Inc. in 2013. The deal team, led by corporate partners George Martin and Ryan Miske, worked to negotiate and sign definitive agreements within just two weeks at the end of 2012, and bifurcated the closings to allow Hormel to purchase all Skippy® assets outside of China quickly in January 2013. The closing on the purchase of Skippy® assets in China was completed in November 2013.

The M&A Mid-Market Awards honor the leading dealmakers and deals that set the standard for transactions in the middle market in the previous year. Mergers & Acquisitions looks for companies that overcame challenges, embodied the trends of the period, and took their businesses to the next level to determine winners.

"A great example of what we look for can be found in the $700 million acquisition by Hormel Foods Corp. of the popular Skippy® peanut butter brand from Unilever plc," the report from Mergers & Acquisitions stated. "The transaction allowed Hormel to continue growing in important new markets, specifically health-conscious consumers and international customers, especially in China. These areas of expansion aren't significant just to Hormel but to the whole middle market."

Hormel's acquisition of Skippy® was also recognized as a Deal of the Year at the 12th Annual M&A Advisor Awards in December 2013, and won a BOLD Award from the Association for Corporate Growth's Minnesota chapter in March 2014.

The complete article is available to Mergers & Acquisitions subscribers.