TreeHouse Foods acquires another Canadian private label manufacturer

Oakbrook, Ill. – TreeHouse Foods Inc. has acquired a Richmond Hill, Ont.-based food and beverage manufacturer.

TreeHouse has announced it will pay CDN$170 million for Protenergy Natural Foods. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2014.

It’s the second Canadian company in as many years for TreeHouse. Associated Brands became part of the TreeHouse family in the summer of 2013. (“U.S. company acquires Associated Brands.”).

Protenergy mainly produces private label broth, soups and gravies for private label and corporate brands, and also serves as a co-manufacturer of national brands. The company has been at the forefront of the evolution of carton and recart broth, soups and gravies.

The company’s facility in Richmond Hill is technologically advanced and includes customized production equipment. In 2011, Protenergy opened a production facility in Cambridge, Mass.

Today the company employs 300 people and had sales of approximately CDN$130 million in 2013.

For TreeHouse the acquisition means an increase in annual revenue by approximately US$200 million and it presents growth opportunities into closely adjacent food and beverage categories.

TreeHouse’s major product lines include non-dairy powdered creamer and sweeteners; condensed, ready to serve and powdered soups; refrigerated and shelf stable salad dressings and sauces; powdered drink mixes; single serve hot beverages; specialty teas; hot and cold cereals; macaroni and cheese, skillet dinners and other value-added side dishes and salads; salsa and Mexican sauces; jams and pie fillings under the E.D. Smith brand name; pickles and related products; and other food products including aseptic sauces and liquid non-dairy creamer.

Photo from Forman & Field Blog