PITTSBURGH and ST. LOUIS, October 18, 2000 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S.
District Court for the District of Columbia, in an opinion by Judge James
Robertson, today ruled that the H.J. Heinz Company's (NYSE: HNZ) proposed
acquisition of Milnot Holding Corporation should be allowed to proceed under
U.S. anti-trust laws. The judge denied a motion by the Federal Trade
Commission for a preliminary injunction to block Heinz's acquisition of
Milnot, whose largest subsidiary is Beech-Nut Nutrition Corporation, maker of
the popular Beech-Nut brand of prepared baby foods. Both companies called the
ruling a "victory for consumers" that paves the way for a completion of the
transaction, which was first announced on February 28, 2000.
Heinz and Milnot stated that today's ruling affirmed their contention that
Heinz's acquisition of Beech-Nut is in the best interests of American
consumers, will result in improved product offerings and more innovative
competition in the baby food category, and will enable the company to offer a
value-priced premium baby food that combines the respective strengths of Heinz
and Beech-Nut in a national brand. During the trial, many retail customers
supported the transaction, maintaining that it would energize baby food sales
and increase competition against Gerber.
The District Court affirmed the companies' position, citing "powerful
evidence in the record about the efficiencies realized by the merger, and
about the enhanced prospects of the merged entity to introduce innovative
products to compete with Gerber." (The full text of the opinion is available
on the U.S. District Court's website, http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov.)
"We are delighted with the Court's ruling," said William R. Johnson,
Chairman, President and CEO of H.J. Heinz Company. "We took this matter to
the courts because we were confident that we had a very strong case and could
demonstrate convincingly the substantial consumer benefits that would flow
from the combination of Heinz and Beech-Nut."
Scott Meader, President and CEO of Milnot Holding Corporation, said: "The
real winners in this case are consumers. The effect of the Court's ruling
will be to introduce real competition in the baby food aisle by allowing the
creation of a strong and credible national challenger to Gerber from two
regional players."
Milnot is privately held by Chicago-based Madison Dearborn Partners, Inc.,
a leading private equity firm with approximately $7 billion of assets under
management.
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, Pup-Peroni, Orlando, ABC, Olivine and Pudliszki. Information
on Heinz is available at http://www.heinz.com.
SOURCE H. J. Heinz Company and Milnot Holding Corporation
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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, all of H.J.
Heinz Company; Debbie Bolding, GM- Communications, 412-237-5796,
of Heinz North America; or Sal Stazzone, VP- Marketing,
314-655-2113, of Milnot; or Nicholas Alexos, Partner,
312-895-1260 of Madison, Dearborn Partners, Inc.; INVESTORS:
Jack Runkel, VP-Investor Relations, 412-456-6034, of Heinz
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