What happened
Collier Creek Holdings (CCH) was an exceptional stock on Friday, advancing by nearly 17% on the news that it has essentially transformed into a vehicle to take a well-known snack-food company public.
Image source: Utz Quality Foods.
So what
Collier Creek is a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), founded with the aim of making an acquisition or otherwise combining with an existing business.
Mission accomplished. On Friday, Collier Creek announced that it's merging with Utz Quality Foods. Together, the resulting publicly traded company will be called Utz Brands. The merged company will trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under a new ticker symbol, UTZ.
Utz Quality Foods specializes in classic salty treats such as pretzels, potato chips, and pork rinds. It doesn't publish its financial results. In Collier Creek's press release trumpeting the merger, it said that Utz will have an anticipated initial enterprise value of $1.56 billion. Its 2021 adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) is estimated at $134 million.
Collier Creek is made up of executives with food industry experience. One, Jason Giordano, will serve as Utz Brands' chairman. Utz Quality Foods' current CEO, Dylan Lissette, will fill the same role at the new Utz Brands.
Now what
Lissette's family and the Rice family, all descended from Utz's founders, will together hold over 50% ownership in Utz Brands and more than 90% of its equity. Collier Creek said the merger, which is subject to approval from its shareholders, is expected to close in Q3.
