The Hain Celestial Group Acquires the Assets of the Linda McCartney Brand Products and Meat-Free Business
A pioneer and leader in the meat-free category with its range of sausages, ready meals, and pastry products, the Linda McCartney range is recognized for its vegetarian credentials while providing healthy and tasty meal solutions.
14/06/06 The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. today announced the acquisition of the Linda McCartney(R) brand (under license) frozen meat-free business from the H. J. Heinz Company, including the manufacturing facility based in Fakenham, England. A pioneer and leader in the meat-free category with its range of sausages, ready meals, and pastry products, the Linda McCartney range is recognized for its vegetarian credentials while providing healthy and tasty meal solutions.
"We now have the premier meat-free brand which will further support our expansion of natural and organic products. Acquiring the Linda McCartney range of vegetarian products reinforces our commitment to growing in this marketplace," said Irwin D. Simon, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Hain Celestial Group. "We are excited to have the opportunity to work with The McCartney Family in expanding the Linda McCartney frozen meat-free business in the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe as well as throughout North America."
In a statement released by the McCartney Family, they commented, "We are delighted to be joining together with Hain Celestial, a leading light in organic, natural products, to produce an even better range of foods than we have ever made before. We believe that the visions of both our companies fit perfectly with our desire to encourage more and more people to eat pure, vegetarian food. It was this desire that motivated Linda when she started Linda McCartney Foods originally and we hope to continue her good work and in doing so, her legacy."
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to be accretive to the earnings of Hain Celestial during its fiscal year 2007. In May Hain Celestial announced the acquisition of the Fresh Prepared Foods Business in Luton, England from Heinz. Hain Celestial has built a European presence with its natural and organic brands including Celestial Seasonings(R), Terra Chips(R), Soy Dream(R), Rice Dream(R), Natumi(R), Lima(R), Grains Noirs(R) and Biomarche(TM), and is committed to creating and promoting A Healthy Way of Life(TM).
The Linda McCartney brand is licensed under an agreement with Linda Enterprises Limited.
