Campbell Soup completes multibillion-dollar purchase of Charlotte snack maker

Campbell Soup has completed its purchase of Charlotte snack maker Snyder's-Lance.

As part of the deal, Campbell said Monday it is combining the Pepperidge Farm and Snyder’s-Lance portfolios to create "a unified snacking organization" called Campbell Snacks.

The new business unit will be based out of both Pepperidge Farms' headquarters (Norwalk, Conn.) and Charlotte, company officials said. Campbell Snacks will be led by Carlos Abrams-Rivera, Campbell's former president of U.S. biscuits and snacks.

Campbell Soup says it anticipates $170 million in cost savings by end of 2022 as part of the deal, which was announced in December. The combined company will integrate "key control functions," including supply chain and quality, and finance.

Abrams-Rivera would not say whether Campbell plans any layoffs in Charlotte.

Snyder’s-Lance employs about 1,300 at its corporate headquarters in Ballantyne.

In buying Snyder's-Lance, Campbell Soup has said it is making itself into a more snack-focused company, rather than a meal-focused one. Campbell said Monday that with Snyder's-Lance, snacking now will make up 47 percent of its annual net sales, up from a previous 32 percent.

Campbell Snacks' portfolio will include Pepperidge Farm’s brands like Goldfish and Milano, along with Snyder’s-Lance’s well-known brands such as Snyder’s of Hanover, Kettle Brand and Cape Cod.

"We will be housing everything under the Campbell Snacks roof, but individual brands stay the same," Abrams-Rivera said in a call with the Observer. "When you buy a company you buy two things: the talent and the brands. We’ll continue to invest in both."

In a statement, Campbell President and CEO Denise Morrison called the deal a "strategic and transformative acquisition" that creates a $10 billion company more focused on the fast-growing snacking category.

"The combination of Campbell and Snyder's-Lance creates a unique, diversified snacking portfolio of differentiated brands and a large variety of better-for-you snacks for consumers," Morrison said.

Campbell has also said the Snyder's-Lance deal is intended to speed up its access to fast-growing sources of distribution, such as convenience stores. Campbell said it will also be leveraging investments it has made in e-commerce.

Snyder’s-Lance is the product of the 2010 merger of Pennsylvania-based Snyder’s of Hanover and Charlotte-based Lance, which has a long history here; Philip L. Lance started selling roasted peanuts on the streets of Charlotte in 1913.

Campbell Soup paid $50 per share for Snyder's-Lance, which represents an enterprise value of approximately $6.1 billion. Shareholders of Snyder's-Lance approved the deal by a wide margin on Friday.

This story was originally published March 26, 2018 at 3:07 PM with the headline "Campbell Soup completes multibillion-dollar purchase of Charlotte snack maker."