Hain Celestial Announces Accretive Strategic Acquisition

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., July 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. HAIN, a leading organic and natural products company with operations in North America, Europe and India providing consumers with A Healthier Way of Life™, today announced the acquisition by Hain Celestial Europe through one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Mona Group ("Mona"), a leader in plant-based foods and beverages with facilities in Germany and Austria.  Mona offers a wide range of organic and natural products under the Joya® and Happy® brands, including soy, oat, rice and nut-based drinks as well as plant-based yogurts, desserts, creamers, tofu and private label products, sold to leading retailers in Europe, primarily in Austria and Germany and eastern European countries. 

"We are excited by the acquisition of Mona, which expands our presence in plant-based products in Europe, solidifying our leadership position in the category with the addition of Joya® and Happy® to our Dream™, Lima® and Natumi® brands.  This acquisition increases the scale of our plant-based operations to over $100 million net sales in Europe in a growing category of branded and private label products, while providing us with additional manufacturing capacity," said Irwin D. Simon, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hain Celestial.  "Mona also presents us with the opportunity to expand our European product offerings of Lima®, Ella's Kitchen®, Frank Cooper's®, Robertson's® and Sun-Pat® brands into Austria, Germany and other central and eastern European countries, including the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia.  We plan to create sales opportunities with plant-based beverages and yogurt, which we have successfully introduced in the United States, expand the refrigerated category into desserts, extend the reach of our global brands, including Celestial Seasonings®, Terra® and Tilda®, and leverage our existing infrastructure, manufacturing and research and development expertise for cost efficiencies."

In calendar year 2014 Mona had approximately $50 million in net sales and is expected to be accretive to Hain Celestial's earnings in fiscal year 2016.  Mona's plant-based business, which was established in 2001, was owned by several venture capital groups and members of current and former management.

"As a leading natural and organic foods company in Europe, we believe plant-based foods will become more and more a part of our daily diets.  With this acquisition we will be able to further expand our healthy food offerings and capitalize on plant-based eating trends," commented Bart Dobbelaere, Chief Executive Officer of Hain Celestial Europe.  "In addition plant-based foods and beverages are more sustainable and lighten the footprint we leave behind."

"We welcome Wolfgang Goldenitsch, Chief Executive Officer of Mona, who will report to Bart Dobbelaere, and we look forward to working with Wolfgang and Peter Garherr, Chief Financial Officer, and their team to expand our business in Europe," concluded Irwin Simon.

With the acquisition of Mona, Hain Celestial Europe will have three facilities producing plant-based beverages, two in Germany and one in Austria, serving the European markets.  Mona's Vienna office will be the base for expansion into eastern Europe.

The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.
The Hain Celestial Group HAIN, headquartered in Lake Success, NY, is a leading organic and natural products company with operations in North America, Europe and India.  Hain Celestial participates in many natural categories with well-known brands that include Celestial Seasonings®, Earth's Best®, Ella's Kitchen®, Terra®, Garden of Eatin'®, Sensible Portions®, Health Valley®, Arrowhead Mills®, MaraNatha®, SunSpire®, DeBoles®, Casbah®, Rudi's Organic Bakery®, Gluten Free Café™, Hain Pure Foods®, Spectrum®, Spectrum Essentials®, Walnut Acres Organic®, Imagine®, Almond Dream®, Rice Dream®, Soy Dream®, WestSoy®, The Greek Gods®, BluePrint®, FreeBird®, Plainville Farms®, Empire®, Kosher Valley®, Yves Veggie Cuisine®, Europe's Best®, Cully & Sully®, New Covent Garden Soup Co.®, Johnson's Juice Co.®, Farmhouse Fare®, Hartley's®, Sun-Pat®, Gale's®, Robertson's®, Frank Cooper's®, Linda McCartney®, Lima®, Danival®, Happy®, Joya®, Natumi®, GG UniqueFiber®, Tilda®, JASON®, Avalon Organics®, Alba Botanica®, Live Clean® and Queen Helene®.  Hain Celestial has been providing A Healthier Way of Life™ since 1993.  For more information, visit www.hain.com.

Safe Harbor Statement
Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Words such as "plan," "continue," "expect," "expected," "anticipate," "intend", "estimate," "believe," "seek", "may," "potential," "can," "positioned," "should," "future," and similar expressions, or the negative of those expressions, may identify forward-looking statements.  These forward-looking statements include the Company's beliefs or expectations relating to (i) accretion and (ii) growth trends and distribution opportunities.  Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the Company's actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements of the Company, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.  Such factors include, among others, the Company's ability to achieve its guidance for net sales and earnings per diluted share in fiscal year 2015 given the economic environment in the U.S. and other markets that it sells products as well as economic, political and business conditions generally and their effect on the Company's customers and consumers' product preferences, and the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations; changes in estimates or judgments related to the Company's impairment analysis of goodwill and other intangible assets, as well as with respect to the Company's valuation allowances of its deferred tax assets; the Company's ability to implement its business and acquisition strategy; the ability of the Company's joint venture investment to successfully execute its business plan; the Company's ability to realize sustainable growth generally and from investments in core brands, offering new products and its focus on cost containment, productivity, cash flow and margin enhancement in particular; the Company's ability to effectively integrate its acquisitions; the Company's ability to successfully consummate its proposed divestitures; the effects on the Company's results of operations from the impacts of foreign exchange; competition; the success and cost of introducing new products as well as the Company's ability to increase prices on existing products; availability and retention of key personnel; the Company's reliance on third party distributors, manufacturers and suppliers; the Company's ability to maintain existing customers and secure and integrate new customers; the Company's ability to respond to changes and trends in customer and consumer demand, preferences and consumption; international sales and operations; changes in fuel, raw material and commodity costs; changes in, or the failure to comply with, government regulations; the availability of organic and natural ingredients; the loss of one or more of the Company's manufacturing facilities; the ability to use the Company's trademarks; reputational damage; product liability; product recall or market withdrawal; seasonality; litigation; the Company's reliance on its information technology systems; and the other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Company's reports filed with the  SEC, including the annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2014.  As a result of the foregoing and other factors, no assurance can be given as to future results, levels of activity and achievements and neither the Company nor any person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of these statements.

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SOURCE The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.