Bob Evans sells restaurant group, buys Pineland Farms Potato
Bob Evans Farms (BEF) has entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of Bob Evans Restaurants to an affiliate of Golden Gate Capital for $565 million.
Bob Evans Farms (BEF) has entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of Bob Evans Restaurants to an affiliate of Golden Gate Capital for $565 million. In addition, the company has entered into a definitive agreement for the purchase of Pineland Farms Potato for $115 million.
“Today we announced two transactions that are a major step in our strategic transformation that we believe will continue Bob Evans’ history of success,” said Saed Mohseni, president and CEO, BEF. “The sale of Bob Evans Restaurants enables us to concentrate exclusively on BEF Foods, our fastest growing and most profitable segment. We believe this focus will result in higher returns for our shareholders and, as a more focused private business, Bob Evans Restaurants will be better able to deliver on its brand promise of providing quality food and hospitality to every guest at every meal.”
Meanwhile, the acquisition of Pineland Farms Potato increases the company’s side-dish production capacity and provides capability to produce and sell diced and shredded potato products in both the retail and foodservice channels. The acquisition also diversifies BEF’s production capability by adding a second potato processing facility with 180 million lb of capacity, 50 million lb of which are expected to come online in April 2017. Furthermore, Pineland Farms Potato comes with a 900-acre potato farm and is surrounded by an additional 55,000+ acres of annual potato production. Its close proximity to tens of thousands of acres of potato production is particularly attractive as it greatly reduces transportation costs.