The J. M. Smucker Company to Divest its U.S. Canned Milk Brands and Operations

ORRVILLE, Ohio, Nov. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The J. M. Smucker Company SJM (the "Company") today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its U.S. canned milk brands and operations to Eagle Family Foods Group LLC, a subsidiary of funds affiliated with Kelso & Company. The transaction includes canned milk products that are primarily sold in U.S. retail and foodservice channels under the Eagle Brand^® and Magnolia^® brands, along with other branded and private label trade names, with annual net sales of approximately $200 million. The Company's manufacturing facilities in El Paso, Texas, and Seneca, Missouri, will be included in the transaction. The transaction does not include the Company's canned milk business in Canada.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of calendar 2015. Additional terms and conditions of the transaction were not disclosed. The Company will discuss the transaction's impact on its full-year fiscal 2016 outlook when it releases its fiscal 2016 second quarter results on November 19, 2015.

THE J. M. SMUCKER COMPANY FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS 
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements. Readers should understand that the risks, uncertainties, factors, and assumptions listed and discussed in this press release, including the following important factors and assumptions, could affect the future results of the Company and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements: the ability of the Company to successfully complete the divestiture of its U.S. canned milk brands and operations in a timely and cost-effective manner; the ability of the Company to generate sufficient cash flow to meet its deleveraging objectives within the time frames currently anticipated; a change in outlook or downgrade in the Company's public credit ratings by a rating agency below investment grade; volatility of commodity markets from which the Company's raw materials are procured and the related impact on costs; risks associated with derivative and purchasing strategies employed by the Company to manage commodity pricing risks, including the risk that such strategies could result in significant losses and adversely impact the Company's liquidity; the Company's ability to successfully implement and realize the full benefit of price changes that are intended to ultimately fully recover cost, including the competitive, retailer, and consumer response, and the impact of the timing of the price changes to profits and cash flow in a particular period; the success and cost of marketing and sales programs and strategies intended to promote growth in the Company's businesses, including the introduction of new products; general competitive activity in the market, including competitors' pricing practices and promotional spending levels; the impact of accidents, extreme weather, and natural disasters, including crop failures and storm damage; the concentration of certain of the Company's businesses with key customers and suppliers, and the ability to manage and maintain key relationships; impairments in the carrying value of goodwill, other intangible assets, or other long-lived assets or changes in useful lives of other intangible assets; and risks related to other factors described under "Risk Factors" in other reports and statements filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Readers are cautioned not to unduly rely on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made, when evaluating the information presented in this press release. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements to reflect new events or circumstances.

ABOUT THE J. M. SMUCKER COMPANY
For more than 115 years, The J. M. Smucker Company has been committed to offering consumers quality products that bring families together to share memorable meals and moments. Today, Smucker is a leading marketer and manufacturer of consumer food and beverage products and pet food and pet snacks in North America with projected annual net sales of approximately $8 billion. In consumer foods and beverages, its brands include Smucker's^®, Folgers^®, Jif^®, Dunkin' Donuts^®, Crisco^®, Pillsbury^®, R.W. Knudsen Family^®, Hungry Jack^®, Cafe Bustelo^®, Martha White^®, truRoots^®, Sahale Snacks^®, Robin Hood^®, and Bick's^®. In pet food and pet snacks, its brands include Meow Mix^®, Milk-Bone^®, Kibbles 'n Bits^®, Natural Balance^®, and 9Lives^®. The Company remains rooted in the Basic Beliefs of Quality, People, Ethics, Growth, and Independence established by its founder and namesake more than a century ago. For more information about the Company, visit jmsmucker.com.

The J. M. Smucker Company is the owner of all trademarks referenced herein, except for the following, which are used under license: Pillsbury^® is a trademark of The Pillsbury Company, LLC and Dunkin' Donuts^® is a registered trademark of DD IP Holder LLC. Borden^® and Elsie^® are also trademarks used under license.

Dunkin' Donuts^® brand is licensed to The J. M. Smucker Company for packaged coffee products sold in retail channels such as grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, and drug stores. This information does not pertain to Dunkin' Donuts^® coffee or other products for sale in Dunkin' Donuts^® restaurants.

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SOURCE The J. M. Smucker Company