Acquisition of Metcalfe’s Skinny Popcorn by Diamond Foods

DATE
January 2016

TRANSACTION TYPE
Corporate Acquisition

VALUE
£ Undisclosed

SECTOR
Food & Beverage

Spayne Lindsay & Co. advises on the acquisition of  a minority interest in Metcalfe’s skinny by Diamond Foods.

Spayne Lindsay is delighted to announce that it has advised Diamond Foods, one of the US and UK’s leading snack food companies with the well-known KETTLE®, Diamond of California® and Pop Secret® brands, on its acquisition of a minority shareholding in Metcalfe’s skinny from its founders.

Metcalfe’s skinny was co-founded in 2009 by Robert Jakobi and Julian Metcalfe, who also co-founded the Pret A Manger and Itsu food dining chains, to meet the need for healthy but tasty alternatives to traditional snacks. Since launching into the popcorn category, the brand has expanded quickly from ready-to-eat premium popcorn into popcorn crisps, popcorn thins and ricecakes, and is one of the fastest growing popcorn brands in the sector with 67% year-on-year growth to September 2015 (as per Nielsen data).

Ashley Hicks, Managing Director of KETTLE® Chips UK

“We are very excited to acquire an interest in Metcalfe’s skinny, which is an incredibly innovative, fast-growing, premium brand appealing to ‘foodie’ consumers looking for lighter great tasting snacks. We look forward to working with the management team to support their future growth ambitions in the on-trend, high growth popcorn snack category in the UK.

Spayne Lindsay has been very helpful in advising us. Their vast experience in this sector has helped us to continue to develop our ongoing M&A strategy, and the tactical and executional support we received on this deal was invaluable.”