In a move to provide health-conscious consumers with more nutritious snacking options, food and beverage giant PepsiCo Inc. (PEP, Financial) announced on Friday it is acquiring Bare Foods Co.
While the specific details of the deal have not been disclosed, CNBC reported that sources said PepsiCo will pay less than $200 million for the San Francisco-based company, which makes baked fruit and vegetable snacks under the brand name Bare Snacks.
The deal also supports the company’s “Performance with Purpose” initiative, which PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi described as its “vision of making more nutritious products, while also reducing added sugars, salt and unsaturated fat.” She emphasized that Bare Snacks fits this mold.
“The Bare Snacks leadership team has done an outstanding job building a top-tier organization and a strong brand with authentic roots, and I couldn't be more excited to welcome Bare Snacks to the PepsiCo family," she said.
Santosh Padki, the CEO of Bare Foods, also expressed his excitement for the deal, saying Pepsi will help bring “simplicity to snacking.”
“With a shared passion for crunchy, better-for-you snacks, PepsiCo is the right partner to help bring our simply baked fruit and vegetable snacks to even more consumers across the world and continue to grow our brand," he said.
Bare Foods will continue to operate as an independent entity once the deal closes, but will report to Frito-Lay North America.
Shareholders embraced the news as PepsiCo shares gained approximately 0.07% on Friday afternoon to trade around $100.26. The company’s market cap stood at $145.45 billion.
GuruFocus estimates PepsiCo stock has fallen approximately 15% year to date.
Disclosure: No positions.
