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Montag, 3. Februar 2014

Post Holdings acquired PowerBar and Musashi from Nestlé

St. Louis based Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) today announced it has agreed to acquire the PowerBar and Musashi brands and related worldwide assets from Nestlé S.A. (FRA: NESM) for USD 150 Mio (400 Mio including contractually assumed obligations) in cash. Post Holdings, known as Post Foods was a former division of Kraft Foods and is a manufacturer of breakfast cereals. PowerBar is recognized as the main global brand of the Nestlé Performance Nutrition division with a 30 year legacy in sports nutrition and est. 2014 net sales around USD 165 - 175 Mio. (est. 2014 EBITDA USD 15 - 17 Mio.).

PowerBar will play a major role within Post Holdings' active nutrition platform. The active nutrition platform aids consumers in adopting healthier lifestyles and includes the Dymatize, Premier Protein, Supreme Protein and Joint Juice brands. Premier Protein with est. USD 130 Mio. annual net sales was acquired for USD 180 Mio. last year. Most of the other brands were recently acquired by Post Holdings and mark a strong move into the fast growing sports nutrition category. According to a press release issued today:

this transaction furthers Post's efforts to expand upon its investment in the active nutrition category while continuing to execute against the strategy of transforming Post into a more diversified consumer goods company. Post anticipates combining this transaction with Post's current active nutrition portfolio to form a singular Active Nutrition Group with expected annualized revenue approaching $550 million. The acquired brands participate in the rapidly growing sports nutrition bar and sports nutrition supplement categories. The global active nutrition category is expected to remain strong with the category projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7% between 2014 and 2017 (according to Euromonitor). [2]

Post Holdings, Inc. assembled with PowerBar, Musashi, Dymatize, Premier Protein, Supreme Protein and Joint Juice six brands in the sports nutrition category. Post produces currently more than a douzend cereals as well. Post also manufactures private label cereal, granola, dry pasta, peanut butter and other nut butters, dried fruits and baking and snacking nuts, servicing the private label retail, foodservice and ingredient channels. Screenshot: Compositon based on divisions of Post Holdings Inc.

The press release further notes:

David Ritterbush, President and CEO of Premier Nutrition, and Greg Venner, President and CEO of Dymatize will serve as co-CEO's of the Active Nutrition Group within Post, reporting to Terence E. Block, President and COO of Post.

"It's truly exciting to continue the transformation of Post and to increase the role active nutrition will play in that transformation. I'm confident that the talented associates joining Post from Nestle will make a powerful contribution towards this continued transformation," said William P. Stiritz, Post's Chairman and CEO.

The PowerBar and Musashi brands manufacture and market premium bars, powders and gels in geographies that represent more than 90% of global category sales (according to Euromonitor). PowerBar is an iconic brand in the active nutrition industry having been the very first energy bar created by athletes for athletes nearly thirty years ago. PowerBar has a very high awareness among bar users and has enjoyed high levels of trust among consumers for over twenty five years. Musashi is a leading sports nutrition brand in Australia and enjoys leading levels of awareness among its target audience, physically active males.

Capital has been invested in the business over the past seven years and manufacturing capacity exists in the U.S., Germany and Australia to meet projected demand for the next three to five years. Post management believes that PowerBar can continue to capitalize on the high brand recognition PowerBar enjoys with focus and innovation to drive this iconic brand.

The transaction is expected to be completed in Post's fiscal third quarter, subject to customary closing conditions. Post expects to fund the acquisition with cash on hand.

Material terms of the purchase agreement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on a Form 8-K within four business days. [2]

Christoph Schwarz, CEO PowerBar Europe GmbH summarized the major facts, impact on the company in an additional letter to existing customers:

Nestlé today announced it has sold its PowerBar business to Post Holdings, Inc. This agreement was signed on February 2nd, 2014 and will be finalized when customary closing conditions are met, in the coming months.

We are very excited about the prospects for PowerBar joining Post Holdings, Inc.. They are a manufacturer, marketer and distributor of branded ready-to-eat-cereals with over 100 years experience in the food industry. Throughout 2013 Post Holdings, Inc. has been building an active nutrition platform through their recent acquisitions of Premier Nutrition, Dymatize Nutrition and now PowerBar.

This active nutrition platform will give the PowerBar brand the right environment to further flourish and grow in order to be your sports nutrition partner of choice. The ownership of the business will change but you can expect to receive the same level of service as before.