US-based Diamond Foods has purchased Norwich-based Kettle Foods, makers of premium potato chips, from Lion Capital LLP for $615 million in cash. Diamond will acquire Kettle operations in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

“Kettle Foods’ passion for making great tasting, natural potato chips has attracted a loyal consumer following and shaped a truly premium brand that has our deep respect,” said, Michael J. Mendes, Chairman, President and CEO of Diamond Foods, “by adding Kettle, including its talented team of employees, our snack business will have greater scale, which will help us to drive even greater innovation in the snack market. We believe Kettle Foods is a strong fit with the capability to provide solid financial returns for our shareholders, and we plan to invest behind the brand in several areas to position it for long-term success,”

Jeremy Bradley, the Managing Director of Kettle’s U.K. business added “with a strong track record of brand-building, innovation and growth in the snack category in the U.S., Diamond Foods is an ideal partner to build upon our success and drive the next phase of Kettle Foods.”

Lyndon Lea, Partner of Lion Capital, said “Our successful ownership of Kettle Foods reflects Lion’s distinctive strategy of investing in and growing strong consumer brands. Since our acquisition in 2006, we have dramatically increased Kettle’s strategic value through category-leading innovation and penetration gains in the U.S. and U.K. snacking markets, leading to double-digit annualized growth in group revenues and 30% annualized growth in group profitability. In the U.S., we doubled the capacity of the business through investment in a new manufacturing plant in Wisconsin, which supported even higher rates of profit growth within the U.S. market. We are pleased to be selling this iconic brand and highly strategic asset to Diamond Foods, whose heritage of delivering the consumer premium snacking products and market-leading innovation complements the core tenets of Kettle Foods strong retail and operational foundation in the United Kingdom offers Diamond a platform, led by Kettle Chips, for expanding in the U.K. and Europe.”

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