The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. , Melville, N.Y., acquired Premier Foods plc's portfolio of packaged grocery brands, including Hartley's, Sun-Pat, Gale's, Robertson's and Frank Cooper's—peanut butter, honey, jams, fruit and jelly, marmalade and chocolate product offerings—along with its Histon manufacturing base in Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom.

The company estimates that net sales during the eight-month period from closing to June 30, 2013 will approximate $180 million with accretion in earnings per diluted share during that period approximating $0.25 before acquisition-related charges. Premier Foods generated more than $250 million in sales in its last fiscal year, of which approximately 60% were branded products, and will become part of the Hain Daniels Group, which is wholly owned by Hain Celestial and manufactures and sells fresh food and drinks in eight chilled and frozen food categories under New Covent Garden Soup Co., Johnson's Juice Co., Linda McCartney, Farmhouse Fare and Lovetub brands.

"This acquisition furthers our goal to expand in the United Kingdom, and positions the newly expanded Hain Daniels business in the Top 40 of all food and beverage suppliers in the UK," says Irwin Simon, founder, president and CEO of Hain Celestial. "We expect to leverage the loyal customer base from Hartley's, Sun-Pat, Gale's, Robertson's, Frank Cooper's and Rose's with our existing global brands, including Rice Dream, Celestial Seasonings, Earth's Best, Terra Chips and Sensible Portions in the United Kingdom marketplace."