PITTSBURGH, and UNIONDALE, N.Y., June 15, 2000 /PRNewswire/ -- H. J. Heinz
Company (NYSE: HNZ) today announced its intention to execute its preemptive
right to purchase by June 19, 2000 additional equity in The Hain Celestial
Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: HAIN), formerly The Hain Food Group, Inc., to restore
Heinz's investment level to 19.5% of the outstanding stock of Hain. The Heinz
investment level was diluted following the acquisition by Hain of Celestial
Seasonings on May 30, 2000. Under the terms of the agreed contractual price,
the shares will be purchased at $30.88 for an approximate $80 million
additional investment.
Heinz and Hain together have a global strategic alliance to develop in the
very dynamic and fast-growing natural and organic segment of the food
industry.
"We are delighted with our global partnership with Hain Celestial, which
is the leading player in the natural and organic segment. Like Heinz, Hain
Celestial possesses some of the premier brands in the food industry," noted
William R. Johnson, Heinz President and Chief Executive Officer.
Editors Note: See news release issued by Heinz and Hain on
September 27, 1999 via PRNewswire.
ABOUT HEINZ: With sales over US$9 billion, H. J. Heinz Company is one of
the world's leading marketers of branded foods to supermarkets and away-from-
home eating establishments. Its 50 companies operate in some 200 countries,
offering more than 57 hundred varieties. Among the company's famous brands
are Heinz, StarKist, Ore-Ida, 9-Lives, Weight Watchers, Wattie's, Plasmon,
Farley's, Smart Ones, The Budget Gourmet, Linda McCartney, San Marco, Go
Ahead!, Bagel Bites, John West, Petit Navire, Boston Market, Skippy, Kibbles
'n Bits, Pounce, Wagwells, Nature's Recipe, Orlando, ABC, Olivine and
Pudliszki. Information on Heinz is available at http://www.heinz.com.
ABOUT THE HAIN CELESTIAL GROUP:
The Hain Celestial Group, headquartered in Uniondale, NY, is a natural,
specialty and snack food company. The Company is a leader in 13 of the top
15 natural food categories, with such well-known natural food brands as
Celestial Seasonings teas, including Sleepytime(R), Lemon Zinger(R), Red
Zinger(R), and Tension Tamer(R) varieties, Hain Pure Foods(R), Westbrae(R),
Westsoy(R), Arrowhead Mills(R), Health Valley(R), Breadshop's(R), Casbah(R),
Garden of Eatin(R), Terra Chips(R), DeBoles(R), Earth's Best(R), and Nile
Spice. The Company's principal specialty product lines include Hollywood(R)
cooking oils, Estee(R) sugar-free products, Weight Watchers(R) dry and
refrigerated products, Kineret(R) kosher foods, Boston Better Snacks(R), and
Alba Foods(R). The Hain Celestial Group's Internet websites are
http://www.thehainfoodgroup.com and http://www.celestialseasonings.com.
SOURCE H. J. Heinz Company
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Related links:
http://www.heinz.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/575757.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 575757
CONTACT:
MEDIA: Ted Smyth, SVP - Corp. & Govt.
Affairs, 412-456-5780, or Debbie Foster, Director - Corp. Comm.,
412-456-5778, or Jack Kennedy, GM - Strategic Comm.,
412-456-5923; INVESTORS: Jack Runkel, VP - Investor Relations,
412-456-6034, all of Heinz; or HAIN: Gary M. Jacobs, CFO, The
Hain Celestial Group, Inc., 516-237-6276, or Philip L. Thomas of
The P.L. Thomas Group, 312-704-1800
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