Hain Celestial: Announces Acquisition of Daniels Group

Melville / NY. (hc) The Hain Celestial Group Inc., a leading natural and organic products company providing consumers with «A Healthy Way of Life» (TM), announced the acquisition of Daniels Group in the United Kingdom. Daniels is a leading marketer and manufacturer of natural chilled foods in the UK with three leading brands. In the UK, the chilled and/or fresh category represents over 50 percent of food sales and is the fastest-growing category in the grocery sector. Daniels´ product offerings are sold at all major supermarkets and select food-service outlets throughout the United Kingdom.

«We are extremely excited about the Daniels portfolio becoming part of Hain Celestial. We believe the addition of these category-leading brands and products along with our Linda McCartney® and Daily Bread(TM) brands will create a powerhouse in the fresh and frozen natural sector in the United Kingdom. We believe the acquisition will also provide us with scale in our international operations to allow us to introduce some of our existing global brands in a more meaningful way in the marketplace», stated Irwin D. Simon, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hain Celestial.

«The strategic acquisition of Daniels extends Hain Celestial´s presence into one of the fastest-growing healthy food segments in the United Kingdom with a solid leadership position and platform for the growth of our combined operations. We will also look to expand the distribution of certain Daniels brands throughout the rest of Europe utilizing our European-based sales organization. Our momentum with consumers continues in the natural and organic sector as we experience favourable growth trends across our branded portfolio in the United States, Canada, and Europe, including the United Kingdom», continued Irwin Simon.

«The Daniels acquisition comes with a very strong management team led by Rob Burnett, who has over 20 years of experience managing food businesses in the UK. Rob and his team have been instrumental in more than tripling the Daniels business since 2002», said Simon. Burnett will become Chief Executive Officer Hain Celestial United Kingdom, reporting to Simon.

«Over the years we have focused on the long-term growth of our products in the chilled category by investing in our brands with new product innovation and building customer loyalty», commented Burnett. «With a consistent track record of delivering superior growth and profitable returns, we look forward to additional opportunities as part of Hain Celestial to leverage our footprint and expand into adjacent categories with their market-leading natural and organic brands».

«With Daniels´ experienced management team and their in-depth knowledge of the fresh, chilled and frozen food categories in the United Kingdom, we expect to leverage Daniels´ market position and distribution. We think there is a lot of opportunity to bring Daniels expertise in fresh soups and desserts to the United States for consumers looking for fresh, natural soups instead of canned soups», commented Simon.

Daniels manufactures its products in six facilities in the United Kingdom and is headquartered in Leeds. Over the next year, the Company expects to achieve synergies in consolidating its business activities including purchasing and procurement and warehousing and distribution. To support Daniels´ growth and potential capacity constraints, the Company expects to increase utilization of its Fakenham and Luton facilities.

Daniels Group generated sales of approximately 280 million USD in its last fiscal year. Consideration in the transaction, which closed now, consisted of cash at closing amounting to approximately 230 million USD, which is net of a preliminary working capital adjustment. Cash used in the transaction was drawn under the Company´s existing credit facility. Daniels was previously owned by SATS Limited, a leading provider of gateway services and food solutions in Singapore, which is listed on the Singapore Exchange.