Purchase includes Snyder of Berlin, Husman and Tim’s Cascade Snacks.


Snyder of Berlin, Husman and Tim Cascade Snacks are being purchased by Pinnacle Foods Group LLC, the Mountain Lakes, N.J.-based company that owns a number of well-known brands such asLender’sBagels,Celeste pizza,Aunt JemimaandDuncan Hines.

The pending acquisition of the snack companies comes after Pinnacle Foods signed a definitive agreement to acquire Birds Eye Foods from a holding company controlled by Vestar Capital Partners, Pro-Fac Cooperative and Birds Eye management in a transaction valued at $1.3 billion.

Pinnacle Foods, owned by private equity funds controlled by The Blackstone Group, manufactures and distributes branded packaged foods that can be found in 80% of U.S. households.

Pinnacle Foods expects to fund the transaction using a combination of new debt financing at the company and a significant new equity contribution from Blackstone. The transaction will reduce leverage multiples at Pinnacle Foods. The closing of the transaction, which is expected to occur no later than the first quarter of 2010, is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals.