Oak Brook / IL. (thf) TreeHouse Foods Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a plan to explore strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the Company or a transaction to allow the Company to focus on its higher growth Snacking and Beverages business by divesting a significant portion of its Meal Prep business. The determination follows the Company’s ongoing, Board-led strategic review which began earlier this year. TreeHouse has retained Evercore as its financial advisor and Sidley Austin LLP and Gibson Dunn as its legal counsel to assist with the exploration of alternatives.
Ann M. Sardini, Chair of the Board, said, «The Board’s decision to explore strategic alternatives follows careful consideration as well as engagement with many of our shareholders over the past year. The TreeHouse team has executed a major transformation since 2018, improving the ability to support its private label customers and navigate a challenging operating environment. This progress and the strong long-term consumer demand trends for private label provide a favorable backdrop as the Board thoroughly reviews and considers strategic options with a commitment to maximizing value for all shareholders.»
Steve Oakland, President and CEO, commented, «We continue to be confident in our ability to capitalize on the strong long-term fundamentals of our business. We remain committed to serving our customers and supporting our employees as the Board conducts this review. We are proud of the progress we have made to improve our efficiency and the actions we are taking to drive growth, optimize our portfolio and support our customers.»
TreeHouse’s commitment to shareholder value creation is evidenced by its track record of taking action to execute value-enhancing transactions, optimize the business and maintain a disciplined capital allocation approach. Since 2016, TreeHouse has reduced its total debt by more than USD 800 million and strategically invested its free cash flow to strengthen the Company’s foundation and support categories that generate growth and improve profitability.
There can be no assurance that the exploration of strategic alternatives will result in a transaction or other strategic changes or outcomes. The Company has not set a timetable for the conclusion of its review, and it does not intend to comment further on it, unless and until the Board has approved a specific course of action, or otherwise determined that further disclosure is appropriate or required by law.
