Today, Hormel Foods Corporation announced the closing of its acquisition of Columbus Manufacturing, Inc., purchasing the authentic, premium deli meat and salami company, from Chicago-based Arbor Investments, for $850 million.
“The acquisition of Columbus is the catalyst for uniting all our deli businesses into one group,” said Jim Snee, Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer, in a press release. “We received regulatory approval faster than anticipated and are excited to start building a stronger, more united deli organization.”
Initially announced in October, the addition of the Columbus® brand enhances Hormel Foods’ other strong deli brands such as Hormel®, Jennie-O®, Applegate®, and Di Lusso®, overall strengthening its position as a total deli solutions provider.
With Columbus’ annual sales totaling approximately $300 million, with an expected growth rate in excess of five percent, Hormel Foods expects this acquisition to be modestly accretive to earnings per share in fiscal 2018.
Subsequent to the closing of the acquisition and its recent consolidation of its specialty food and grocery foods segments, Hormel Foods is increasing its fiscal 2018 net sales guidance to $9.7 – $10.1 billion and increasing its earnings per share guidance to $1.62 – $1.72 per share.
Will Hormel Foods’ latest acquisition put it above and beyond competitors in the deli category? Deli Market News will continue to report.
