TreeHouse Foods To Acquire Harris Freeman Private Label Business

TreeHouse Foods has signed a definitive agreement to acquire certain subsidiaries that operate the private brand tea business of Harris Freeman & Co, Inc., a leading private brand tea manufacturer in the U.S. The deal, valued at approximately $205 million, is subject to customary purchase price adjustments.

The acquisition includes Harris Tea's manufacturing facilities in Moorestown, N.J., and Marietta, Ga., which have 300 employees in total. The acquisition of Harris Tea will provide vertical integration across the company's existing tea business and will be accretive to the company's overall growth and margins, TreeHouse officials said.

"The acquisition of Harris Tea strengthens our competitive positioning in the fast-growing tea category and adds unique blending and sourcing capabilities that customers desire, building upon TreeHouse Foods' category leadership, enhancing our position through additional depth and scale," said Steve Oakland, chairman, chief executive officer, and president of TreeHouse Foods. "This acquisition aligns with our long-term strategy to build capabilities in our higher-growth, higher-margin categories," he added.

"The tea category presents significant opportunity for future growth," said Kevin Shah, Co-CEO of Harris Freeman. "It was clear that TreeHouse Foods would provide a great fit for our next chapter of growth, given its depth of capabilities, scale, industry expertise, and customer relationships, and I am confident we will maintain our upward trajectory as a result of this transaction."