Inventure Foods, Inc., a leading specialty food marketer and manufacturer, announced the completion on May 28, 2013 of an acquisition of the berry processing business of Willamette Valley Fruit Co., LLC, a family owned business located in Salem, Ore. (WVFC). The purchased assets include the berry processing equipment assets, including a new Individually Quick Frozen (IQF) tunnel, long term building and ground leases, including additional improvements currently being installed, and other intellectual property and inventory rights.
As consideration for the acquisition, Inventure assumed certain liabilities relating to existing business contracts arising after the closing date and paid an aggregate amount of $9.5 million in cash, a portion of which is being held back to secure post-closing purchase price adjustments and indemnity claims. An additional amount of up to $3 million is payable as contingent consideration in the form of an earn-out if certain performance threshold are met during the period of up to 7 years following the closing.
Headquartered in Oregon, WVFC has become one of the Pacific Northwest's leading processors of high-quality berry products. Each summer, WVFC processes an average of 13 million pounds of fruit, including strawberries, raspberries, boysenberries, blueberries, cranberries and a variety of blackberries including a local favorite, marionberries.
"We are delighted to have finalized this acquisition," said Terry McDaniel, chief executive officer of Inventure Foods, Inc., in a prepared statement. "This transaction further underscores our commitment to providing healthy food options to consumers and will help us meet the growing demand for our frozen berries. The acquired business is well positioned within the Oregon berry community, and we look forward to strengthening our ties with the grower community. We are also excited about the additional capabilities this acquisition will bring and look forward to further diversifying our geographic footprint."
"Dave Dunn will continue to lead our new organization. Dave has been very instrumental in leading the success of Willamette Valley Fruit. We are very pleased to work with Dave and his excellent team providing resources and capital to ensure we together continue growing our healthy fruit business," concluded McDaniel.
