PITTSBURGH, July 18, 2000 /PRNewswire/ -- H. J. Heinz Company (NYSE: HNZ),
the global food company, today announced that its Heinz Foodservice Division
has signed an agreement to acquire IDF Holdings, Inc., the parent of
International DiverseFoods Inc. (IDF), a leading manufacturer of customized,
reciped dressings, sauces, mixes and condiments for restaurant chains and
foodservice distributors. This strategic transaction will enable Heinz to
accelerate the growth of its dynamic away-from-home eating business through
expansion of its increasingly popular single-serve product lines, addition of
new packaging capabilities and enhancement of its customer service. The
transaction is expected to be completed later this week. Terms of the
transaction were not released.
"We are delighted to add IDF to our foodservice portfolio," said Heinz
President and CEO William R. Johnson. "Away-from-home eating is one of the
hottest trends in the food industry and Heinz is well positioned to capitalize
on it. Successful acquisitions have been key to our foodservice expansion and
continue to be a major driver in our long-term strategy for top- and bottom-
line growth. The addition of a quality company like IDF will provide further
scale while also fortifying our R&D capabilities."
IDF is a leading player in the fast-growing away-from-home eating segment.
With annual sales exceeding $100 million, it offers an extensive line of
portion control and bulk food products, including sauces, condiments, salad
dressings, pancake and biscuit mixes, batters and breading. Its major
customers include leading casual dining restaurants and fast-food chains,
along with foodservice distributors and food processing companies.
Headquartered in a manufacturing facility in Nashville, Tenn., IDF also
maintains a West Coast operation in City of Industry, Calif. The company has
approximately 260 employees.
"IDF is an ideal fit for our organization," said Jeffrey Berger, president
of Heinz Foodservice. "Part of our strategic plan includes acquiring
companies in categories where we have solid working knowledge. IDF's product
offerings and customer base clearly complement our operation."
Heinz Foodservice is one of the largest product suppliers to the U.S.
foodservice industry, providing leading away-from-home establishments with
condiments, frozen soups, tomato products and sauces, hot-fill food products,
single-serve products, among other items.
"We are achieving success with acquisitions in categories that complement
the strengths of our organization. Heinz North America has a rich history of
successfully integrating new businesses into our organization," said Joe
Jimenez, president and CEO of Heinz North America. "We fully expect IDF to be
similarly integrated into Heinz Foodservice."
IDF will be managed by Heinz subsidiary Portion Pac Inc. (PPI), Mason,
Ohio, the largest manufacturer of single-serve products for the U.S.
foodservice industry.
"Because we have almost matching customer bases, integrating IDF into PPI
will create a broad-range supplier, adding even greater value to our existing
customer-supplier relationships," Mr. Berger said. "Both companies have
national coverage that meets customers' diverse logistical requirements. By
coming together, we will achieve economies in distribution and marketing."
Offering Custom-Developed Menu Items
IDF's innovative Total Product Solutions(TM) has made it a leader in
contemporary culinary manufacturing -- capable of providing rapid, customized
foodservice solutions to leading restaurants and fast-food chains. With Total
Product Solutions(TM), IDF's culinary research and development team works
together with customers to develop specialty menu suggestions. The team moves
from the idea stage to prototype delivery in less than a week. Custom-
developed products include flavored dressings, spreads, sauces, glazes and
marinades. Specialty packaging is also featured.
The addition of IDF to the Heinz Foodservice portfolio extends Heinz's
packaging capabilities to include gallon containers and larger plastic tubs
designed for added convenience in storage and dispensing. The acquisition
also gives Heinz entry into the bulk foods category as well as the
refrigerated product market, highly valued by customers seeking fresh foods.
This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding the
company's future performance. These forward-looking statements are based on
management's views and assumptions, and involve risks, uncertainties and other
important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These include,
but are not limited to, sales, earnings and volume growth, competitive
conditions, the ability of the Company to integrate acquisitions into its
existing operations, currency valuations, global economic and industry
conditions, achieving cost savings programs, success of acquisitions and new
product innovations, and other factors described in "Forward-Looking
Statements" in the company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 28,
1999, as updated from time to time by the company in its subsequent filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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 INTERNATIONAL DIVERSEFOODS INC.: Founded in 1952 as Mike Rose Foods
Inc., the IDF name was adopted later, in 1995. In January 1998, J.W. Childs
Equity Partners, L.P. purchased IDF, which then acquired Green Boy Foods in
April 1998. IDF has approximately 260 employees and 1999 sales in excess of
$100 million. Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., it has a second
manufacturing facility in City of Industry, Calif.
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; Debbie Foster, Director-Corp. Comm., 412-456-5778;
or Jack Kennedy, GM-Strategic Comm., 412-456-5923, of Heinz;
Debbie Bolding-GM Communications, 412-237-5796, of Heinz North
America; INVESTORS: Jack Runkel, VP-Investor Relations,
412-456-6034, of Heinz
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