-=Amplify Snack Brands (BETR) to be acquired by Hershey (HSY) for $12.00/share

Amplify Snack Brands confirms agreement to be acquired by Hershey (HSY) for $12.00/share in cash 

Under the terms of the agreement between Hershey and Amplify, Hershey has agreed to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Amplify Snack Brands, Inc. for $12.00 per share, in a transaction structured as a tender offer followed by a merger, valued at approximately $1.6 billion, including net debt and including a make-whole payment of $76 million related to the Tax Receivable Agreement). Based on previously announced guidance, this represents a multiple of approximately 14.8-times 2017 Adjusted EBITDA including identified annual run-rate synergies of approximately $20 million expected to be generated over the next two years from cost savings and portfolio optimization.

• The transaction will be funded with cash on hand and new debt and is not expected to impact Hershey's current ratings.
• Hershey expects the transaction to be accretive to adjusted earnings per share-diluted, including transaction related non-cash amortization, in the first-year post closing with accretion increasing in year two. Adjusted earnings per share-diluted accretion in both years is substantially higher when excluding transaction related amortization. The acquisition is not expected to affect the previously announced full year 2017 outlooks provided in Hershey's and Amplify's third quarter earnings release and conference calls.

=Amplify Snack Brands (BETR) reported earnings on Tue 7 Nov 2017 (a/h)

Amplify Snack Brands misses by $0.02, misses on revs; lowers FY17 EPS, revs guidance 

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.07 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.09; revenues rose 39.5% year/year to $94.86 mln vs the $97.7 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Gross profit was $35.9 million for the 13 weeks ended September 30, 2017, or 37.9% of net sales, compared to $32.3 million, or 47.6% of net sales for the three months ended September 30, 2016. The decrease in gross margin percentage for the 13 weeks ended September 30, 2017 was primarily due to the acquisition of Tyrrells, increased promotional activity and to a lesser extent increased net sales mix from the Oatmega and Paqui brands and new SkinnyPop innovation, all of which have lower gross margin profiles than the SkinnyPop ready-to-eat products.
• Co lowers guidance for FY17, sees EPS of $0.25-0.27 (Prior $0.35-0.43), excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.33 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY17 revs of $375-379 mln (Prior $385-400 mln) vs. $386.97 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 

Amplify Snack Brands (BETR) reported earnings on Mon 14 November 2016 (a/h)

** charts after earnings **

** 3 days later **

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ Amplify Snack Brands Inc. (BETR) on Monday reported third-quarter net income of $1.6 million, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier.

The Austin, Texas-based company said it had profit of 2 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were 12 cents per share.

The results did not meet Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 15 cents per share.

The popcorn and tortilla chip maker posted revenue of $68 million in the period, beating Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $64.7 million.

Amplify expects full-year earnings in the range of 49 cents to 51 cents per share, with revenue in the range of $268 million to $272 million.

Amplify shares have increased 17 percent since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Monday, shares hit $13.47, a rise of 11 percent in the last 12 months.