SunOpta Inc., a healthy food and beverage company focused on plant-based foods and beverages and fruit-based foods and beverages, announced the acquisition of the Dream® and WestSoy® plant-based beverage brands from The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.
The acquired brands will add to SunOpta’s Plant-Based Foods and Beverages segment, further accelerating growth in this competitively advantaged business. The Dream brand is the #2 brand of shelf-stable, plant-based milks, originally launched in 1982. As one of the pioneers in plant-based milks, Dream has been a leader in introducing millions of consumers to plant-based beverages over the last 40 years.
With broad distribution across natural and organic channels, in addition to traditional grocery channels, Dream is a strong platform from which SunOpta can drive growth. SunOpta currently produces approximately 50% of the Dream product portfolio and has done so for over a decade. The WestSoy brand is the only branded shelf stable soy beverage with a USDA organic certification and the American Heart Association certification of a heart-healthy product. Available at many leading national retailers, SunOpta currently produces the entire WestSoy product portfolio.
The purchase price is $33 million, funded principally by a new $20 million FILO term loan within SunOpta’s ABL facility at LIBOR plus 250 to 300 basis points, depending on the utilization of the ABL facility.
