Transaction Introduces Utz as a Publicly
Listed Company on the New York Stock Exchange After Nearly 100
Years as a Family-Owned Business
Utz Quality Foods, LLC (“Utz” or the “Company”), a leading U.S.
manufacturer of branded salty snacks, and Collier Creek Holdings
(“Collier Creek”) (NYSE: CCH, CCH.U, CCH WS), a special purpose
acquisition company, today announced that they have completed their
business combination. The transaction has been unanimously approved
by the board of directors of Collier Creek and was approved at a
special meeting of Collier Creek shareholders on August 27, 2020.
Per the terms of the business combination agreement, Collier Creek
and Utz have combined to form Utz Brands, Inc. (“Utz Brands”), a
leading pure-play snack food platform in the U.S. The common stock
of Utz Brands will trade under the ticker symbol “UTZ” on the New
York Stock Exchange beginning August 31, 2020.
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Founded in 1921, Utz has a strong heritage in the salty snack
industry in the U.S. and more than 40 years of continued growth.
The Company’s iconic portfolio of authentic, craft, and
better-for-you brands includes Utz®, Zapp’s®, Golden Flake®, Good
Health®, Boulder Canyon®, Hawaiian® Brand, and TORTIYAHS!®, among
others . The Company operates 14 manufacturing facilities
nationwide with a broad range of capabilities and produces a full
line of potato chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, veggie snacks, pork
skins, pub / party mixes, tortilla chips and other snacks,
including innovative better-for-you snacking options. Utz expects
to generate net sales of $932 million in 2020.
Collier Creek was co-founded by Chinh Chu, Roger Deromedi, and
Jason Giordano, who bring more than 80 years of combined investing
and operating experience, with a focus on the consumer goods
sector. Mr. Deromedi, who had a long and successful tenure as
Chairman of Pinnacle Foods and, prior to that, as CEO of Kraft
Foods, will become Chairman of Utz Brands. Utz Brands’ board of
directors will be composed of a majority of independent directors
under the applicable listing rules of the New York Stock
Exchange.
Dylan Lissette, who has served as Utz’s CEO since 2013 and has
worked at the Company for almost 25 years, will continue to lead
the business along with the existing management team. Utz Brands
will remain headquartered in Hanover, Pennsylvania.
Proceeds from the transaction were used primarily to repay
existing borrowings at Utz. The Rice and Lissette family, the
founding family and owners of Utz, retained more than 90% of its
existing equity stake, which represents more than 50% ownership in
Utz Brands following completion of the transaction.
“The completion of our business combination with Collier Creek
and the initiation of Utz as a public company, marks a significant
milestone and will fuel our next century of growth after nearly 100
years as a family-owned business,” said Mr. Lissette. “We have
spent the last 10 years building Utz into a national brand and
platform through rapid geographic and brand portfolio expansion
driven by strategic acquisitions and organic growth. Our
partnership with Roger and the Collier Creek team positions us to
further accelerate our growth as a public company and achieve our
goal of being the fastest-growing, pure-play branded snack company
of scale.”
Mr. Lissette continued: “Leveraging our proven track record of
profitable growth and the Collier Creek team’s expertise in driving
value creation in food platform companies, we have multiple ways to
win in the growing salty snack category. Our growth strategy is
focused on driving organic sales growth through increased
marketing, new products and geographic expansion; executing
significant margin enhancement opportunities; reinvesting
productivity gains into the business to unlock topline growth; and
continuing to build the Utz platform with strategic
acquisitions.”
“Our partnership with Utz brings together the financial and
human capital of Collier Creek with an exceptional 100-year-old
company that has significant competitive advantages and runway for
profitable growth,” said Mr. Deromedi. “Utz is an iconic company
with a strong portfolio of beloved snack brands, growing positions
in the salty snack category, and a competitively advantaged
manufacturing and distribution network. We are excited to partner
with Dylan and the talented Utz management team to execute our
proven operating playbook and drive value for all of our
stakeholders.”
Mr. Chu and Mr. Giordano added: “We are excited to complete this
transaction, which delivers attractive value to our shareholders,
and look forward to partnering with management to drive future
growth and value creation at Utz.”
Key Transaction Terms
At the closing of the transaction, Collier Creek was
domesticated as a Delaware corporation and the name of Collier
Creek has been changed to Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE: UTZ).
A more detailed description of the transaction terms will be
included in a current report on Form 8-K to be filed by Utz Brands
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).
Goldman Sachs and Sageworth are acting as financial advisors to
Utz. Citigroup, Credit Suisse, and BofA Securities are acting as
capital markets advisors to Collier Creek. Citigroup and Credit
Suisse are acting as lead financial advisors with BofA Securities
and Nomura also serving as financial advisors to Collier Creek.
Cozen O’Connor is acting as legal counsel to Utz and Kirkland &
Ellis LLP is acting as legal counsel to Collier Creek.
About Utz
Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE: UTZ) manufactures a diverse portfolio of
salty snacks under popular brands including Utz®, Zapp’s®, Golden
Flake®, Good Health®, Boulder Canyon®, Hawaiian® Brand, and
TORTIYAHS!®, among others.
After nearly a century, with strong family heritage, Utz
continues to have a passion for exciting and delighting consumers
with delicious snack foods made from top-quality ingredients. Utz’s
products are distributed nationally and internationally through
grocery, mass merchant, club, convenience, drug and other channels.
Based in Hanover, Pennsylvania, Utz operates fourteen facilities
located in Pennsylvania, Alabama, Arizona, Illinois, Indiana,
Louisiana, Washington, and Massachusetts. For more information,
please visit www.utzsnacks.com or call 1‐800‐FOR‐SNAX.
About Collier Creek
Collier Creek is a special purpose acquisition company that
completed its initial public offering in October 2018, raising $440
million in proceeds. Collier Creek was formed for the purpose of
effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share
purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one
or more businesses. Collier Creek was co-founded by Roger K.
Deromedi, Chinh E. Chu, and Jason K Giordano, who bring over 80
years of combined investing and operating experience, with a focus
on the consumer goods sector. Mr. Deromedi is the former Chairman
of Pinnacle Foods and the former Chief Executive Officer of Kraft
Foods. Mr. Chu and Mr. Giordano are Senior Managing Directors of CC
Capital, a private investment firm.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within
the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Collier Creek’s and Utz’s
actual results may differ from their expectations, estimates and
projections and consequently, you should not rely on these forward
looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as
“expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “budget,” “forecast,”
“anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,”
“believes,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” and similar
expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements include, without
limitation, Collier Creek’s and Utz’s expectations with respect to
future performance and anticipated financial impacts of the
proposed business combination, the satisfaction of the closing
conditions to the business combination and the timing of the
completion of the business combination. These forward-looking
statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could
cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected
results. Most of these factors are outside Collier Creek’s and
Utz’s control and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause
such differences include, but are not limited to: (1) the outcome
of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Collier
Creek and Utz following the consummation of the business
combination; (2) the inability to maintain the listing of the
post-business combination company’s common stock on the New York
Stock Exchange following the business combination; (3) the risk
that the business combination disrupts current plans and
operations; (4) the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits
of the business combination, which may be affected by, among other
things, competition, the ability of the combined company to grow
and manage growth profitably and retain its key employees; (5)
costs related to the business combination; (6) changes in
applicable laws or regulations; (7) the possibility that Utz Brands
may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or
competitive factors; and (8) other risks and uncertainties
indicated from time to time in the proxy statement/prospectus
relating to the business combination, including those included in
the section “Risk Factors”, and in Collier Creek’s other filings
with the SEC. Some of these risks and uncertainties may in the
future be amplified by the COVID-19 outbreak and there may be
additional risks that Utz Brands considers immaterial or which are
unknown. It is not possible to predict or identify all such risks.
Utz Brands cautions that the foregoing list of factors is not
exclusive. Utz Brands cautions readers not to place undue reliance
upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the
date made. Utz Brands does not undertake or accept any obligation
or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any
forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its
expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances
on which any such statement is based, except as otherwise required
by law.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200828005352/en/
Investor Contact Katie
Turner ICR 646-277-1228 Katie.Turner@icrinc.com
Media Contacts
Collier Creek: Jonathan Keehner /
Tim Ragones / Kate Thompson Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
212-355-4449
Utz: Marie Espinel, Katie Lewis or
Hannah Arnold The LAKPR Group mespinel@lakpr.com, klewis@lakpr.com,
or harnold@lakpr.com 202-559-9171
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