Hormel to Acquire Skippy Peanut Butter For $700 Million

AUSTIN, Minn.Could peanut butter and SPAM® sandwiches be the next best thing? Maybe. Hormel Foods Corp. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Skippy® peanut butter business from Unilever United States, Inc., for approximately $700 million.

The deal, subject to customary regulatory and closing conditions, represents a significant opportunity for Hormel Foods to grow its branded presence in the center of the store with a non-meat protein product.

Peanut butter is a $2 billion category with a 74% household penetration and is the second most popular sandwich behind ham in the United States. The Skippy peanut butter domestic line consists of 11 varieties of shelf-stable peanut butter products. First introduced in 1932, Skippy holds the No. 2 share in the growing center of the store category and is the leading brand in the growing subcategory of natural peanut butter. Internationally, Skippy is the leading brand of peanut butter in China and is sold in more than 30 other countries on five continents.

The fast-growing international line will also strengthen our global presence, and should be a useful complement to our sales strategy in China for the SPAM® family of products," said Jeffrey M. Ettinger, chairman of the board, president and CEO at Hormel Foods.

According to Hormel, Skippy sales are expected to reach about $370 million this year, with nearly $100 million of those sales outside the United States.