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June 4, 2008
P&G's Folgers Business to Merge into The J. M. Smucker Company
Photo: Co-CEOs Richard & Tim Smucker welcome Folgers into the Smucker family of brands. (The J.M. Smucker Company)
The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) and The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) announced today the signing of a definitive agreement to merge the Folgers coffee business ("Folgers") into The J. M. Smucker Company in an all-stock reverse Morris Trust transaction valued at approximately $3.3 billion, including the assumption of an estimated $350 million of Folgers debt. As part of the transaction, Smucker will issue a one-time special dividend of $5 per share to Smucker shareholders as of the record date, prior to the merger, a clear indication of the strength of the combined businesses. Following this one-time special dividend, P&G shareholders will receive approximately 53.5 percent of Smucker in a tax-free stock-for-stock merger.
Folgers is the leading producer of retail packaged coffee products in the United States with a 150 year history. Folgers' broad portfolio of products are sold primarily under its flagship Folgers(R) brand. This brand joins a widely recognized portfolio of brands that include Smucker's(R), Jif(R), Crisco(R), Pillsbury(R), Eagle Brand(R), Hungry Jack(R), Robin Hood(R) and Bick's(R). The proposed transaction creates a powerful portfolio of brands and an even stronger Smucker Company with annual sales approaching $5 billion, and greater scale that will benefit all of its businesses. With the addition of Folgers, the total size of the categories in which Smucker participates increases to approximately $15 billion as compared to $1 billion in 2002. The addition of Folgers, a billion dollar brand, is consistent with Smucker's strategy to own and market number one food brands in North America.
"Folgers is a perfect strategic fit within our portfolio of leading and iconic North American food brands," said Tim Smucker, Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Smucker. "Folgers will become our tenth number one brand in North America and will further enhance the high quality, great tasting, diverse product offerings that consumers expect from Smucker. We are proud to welcome the talented Folgers employees to the Smucker Company where brands and people are about more than making and marketing products. We believe the many common values shared by our organizations represent a great foundation for a smooth integration."
Source: The J. M. Smucker Company; The Procter & Gamble Company
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Edited & Posted by the Editor | 8:13 PM | Link to this Post
