Pinnacle Foods Explained

Pinnacle Foods, Inc.
Type:	Subsidiary
Traded As:	(until 2018)
Industry:	Food
Predecessors:	-->
Founded:	(as Vlasic Foods International)
Founders:	-->
Fate:	Acquired by Conagra Brands
Successors:	-->
Hq Location:	Parsippany, New Jersey, U.S.
Areas Served:	-->
Products:	Frozen food, condiments, baking mixes, packaged meat
Revenue:	US$3.144 billion
Revenue Year:	2017
Profit:	-->
Profit Year:	-->
Owners:	-->
Num Employees:	4,900^[1]
Num Employees Year:	2017
Parent:	Conagra Brands (2018–present)
Website:	pinnaclefoods.com

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.

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

• Armour Star (acquired from The Dial Corporation in 2006)
• Appian Way Pizza Crust Mix (acquired from The Dial Corporation in 2006)
• Banner Sausage (acquired from The Dial Corporation in 2006)
• Bernstein's dressings
• Brooks beans and chili
• Cream Corn Starch (acquired from The Dial Corporation in 2006)
• Duncan Hines including Duncan Hines Comstock, Duncan Hines Wilderness (acquired from Procter & Gamble in 1997)
• Log Cabin Syrup (acquired from Kraft Foods)
• Milwaukee's Pickles
• Mrs. Butterworth's (acquired from Unilever)
• Nalley
• Open Pit barbecue sauce
• Smart Balance
• Vlasic
• Wish-Bone (acquired from Unilever in 2013^[17])

Frozen

• Birds Eye including Birds Eye C&W and Birds Eye Voila!
• Celeste
• Hungry-Man frozen TV dinners (acquired from Campbell Soup Company)
• Lender's (acquired from Kraft Foods in 1999)
• Mrs. Paul's
• Van de Kamp's

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

Former

Frozen

• Aunt Jemima frozen breakfast foods, produced continuously under license from Quaker Oats beginning in 1996 under Aurora Foods^[19] until discontinuation of the entire lineup in 2017 soon after a voluntary product recall over potential listeria contamination.^{[20] [21]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: Pinnacle Foods. Fortune. 2019-03-04.
2. http://www.metropoulos.com/case-study/pinnacle/ Metropoulos Group:Case Studies:Pinnacle Foods
3. Web site: Blackstone Group buying Pinnacle Foods. NBC News. 12 February 2007. 14 March 2018.
4. Web site: World's Coolest Offices 2018. Inc.com. en. 2018-08-07.
5. News: Pinnacle Foods Sets Its Shares At High End. 2013-03-28. The New York Times. 2018-08-07. en.
6. Web site: Hillshire Brands Buying Pinnacle Foods for $4.23B. . May 12, 2014. ABCNews.go.com. ABC News. May 12, 2014.
7. News: Pinnacle Foods Lets Hillshire out of Sale Pact. 30 June 2014. Associated Press. ABC News. 30 June 2014.
8. Web site: Team. Trefis. Hillshire Brands Moves To End Pinnacle Deal In Light Of Tyson Foods' Offer. Forbes. 30 June 2014.
9. Web site: Pinnacle Foods CEO Robert Gamgort to head Keurig Green Mountain. USA TODAY. 2016-03-23.
10. News: Pinnacle Foods Taps Mondelez's Clouse as CEO. Jamerson. Joshua. 2016-04-27. Wall Street Journal. 2018-01-02. en-US. 0099-9660.
11. News: Conagra to buy Pinnacle for $8.1 billion, creating frozen food powerhouse. Naidu. Richa. Reuters U.S.. 2018-06-27. en-US.
12. Web site: 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). 26 October 2018. 28 November 2018.
13. News: Aurora Foods emerges from bankruptcy, completes merger. 10 July 2015. St. Louis Business Journal. 22 March 2004.
14. Web site: Pinnacle Foods Group acquires Armour dry food products. Food Ingredients First. 2 March 2006. 14 March 2018.
15. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pinnacle-fds-deals-idUSKCN0IY1HB20141114 Pinnacle Foods to buy Canadian protein foods maker Gardein
16. Web site: Pinnacle Foods to buy Boulder Brands to boost health offerings. Reuters. 24 November 2015.
17. News: Pinnacle Foods to buy Unilever's Wish-Bone salad dressing business. . August 12, 2013 .
18. Web site: Home | Conagra Brands. www.conagrabrands.com.
19. Web site: Aunt Jemima—Our History. https://web.archive.org/web/20070823123017/http://www.auntjemima.com/aj_history/. August 23, 2007. Quaker Oats.
20. Web site: Beach. Coral. 2017-05-10. Pinnacle discontinues recalled Aunt Jemima breakfast products. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20220407215338/https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2017/05/pinnacle-discontinues-recalled-aunt-jemima-breakfast-products/. 2022-04-07. 2022-04-07. Food Safety News. en-US.
21. Web site: Karimi. Faith. 2017-05-06. Aunt Jemima frozen pancakes, waffles and French toast recalled. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20220407231739/https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/06/health/aunt-jemima-frozen-pancakes-waffles-recalled/index.html. 2022-04-07. 2022-04-07. CNN. en.