Hain Celestial offloads its Hain Pure Protein business for $80m

Hain Celestial has sold its Hain Pure Protein business to private equity firm Aterian Investment Partners for $80 million.

The deal, which is expected to close before 30 June, includes poultry-based brands FreeBird and Empire Kosher.

Earlier this week, New York-headquartered Hain Celestial announced it had divested its WestSoy tofu, seitan and tempeh unit, as it continues to simplify its portfolio of brands. The transaction did not include the WestSoy plant-based beverage business, which has been retained by the company.

“We are pleased to have entered into an agreement for the sale of our remaining Hain Pure Protein businesses,” said Mark Schiller, Hain Celestial CEO. 

“This divestiture is another step forward in simplifying our organisation aligned with our transformational strategic plan as we aggressively pursue margin enhancing initiatives to fuel long-term sustainable growth and profitability.

“We expect the sale of Hain Pure Protein to also help improve our balance sheet as we generate cash from the sale with which we plan to use in part to pay down debt. We believe these non-core brands will generate better results under the ownership of an organisation that is focused on the protein category.” 

The divestiture comes as Hain Celestial announced its net sales decreased 5% during its third quarter to $599.8 million compared to the prior year period. Operating income stood at $23.9 million, down from $29.3 million.

Schiller, who was appointed Hain Celestial CEO in October, said: “Our team is in the early innings of executing on our transformational strategic plan to simplify our portfolio, strengthen our core capabilities, reinvigorate profitable top-line growth, and expand margins, return-on-invested-capital and cash flow. We remain committed to delivering consistency in our operational and financial results to drive long-term shareholder value.”