Pennsylvania-Based UTZ Brands Sold To German Group

A favorite supermarket brand of chips was sold earlier this week. Hanover, PA’s Utz Brands has agreed to be acquired by Germany’s Intersnack Group in a $2.9 billion go-private transaction. Under terms of the deal, shareholders will receive $14.25 per share in cash, and the company will transition from a public trading entity to being owned equally (50/50) by Intersnack as well as Utz’s founders, the Rice and Lissette family. News of the acquisition sent stock prices up from $6.78 to $14.11 a share this week. Utz Brands will continue managing its core U.S. snack lines—including Utz, Zapp’s, On the Border, and Boulder Canyon. The new ownership plans to keep the brand in Hanover.