Post Holdings: intends IPO of its Active Nutrition Business

St. Louis / MO. (pfh) Post Holdings Inc., a consumer packaged goods holding company, announced it plans to pursue an initial public offering (IPO) of shares of common stock of a company which will be comprised of its Active Nutrition business.

Rationale for IPO of Active Nutrition Business

Aligned with Post’s focus on creating long-term shareholder value, Post’s Board of Directors approved a plan to separate its Active Nutrition business into a distinct, publicly traded company, creating a scalable, high growth asset with dedicated capital resources and the strategic flexibility to pursue both organic and M+A opportunities.

Post’s Active Nutrition business markets and distributes ready-to-drink protein and other beverages, protein powders, nutrition bars and other nutritional supplements under the Premier Protein, Dymatize, PowerBar, Supreme Protein and Joint Juice brands. It participates in attractive categories benefitting from robust consumer trends towards increased convenience, health and wellness and higher protein consumption. The business has achieved rapid growth in recent years, with net sales increasing at a compound annual growth rate of 30 percent(1) since 2014, attributable to industry leading growth in its Premier Protein ready-to-drink shake products driven by strong velocities, distribution gains and new flavors. Post management believes the business’s growth characteristics and high cash flow conversion advantageously position it to be a consolidator across a wide range of opportunities.

(1) Fiscal year 2014 through fiscal year 2018.

Leadership

Darcy Horn Davenport, current President of Active Nutrition, will serve as CEO of the new public company. She has been with Active Nutrition since 2009 serving in a variety of leadership roles in marketing and management, becoming President in 2017. Rob Vitale, Post’s President and CEO, will also serve as Executive Chairman of the board of directors of the new public company. Other officers and directors of the new public company will be named at a later date.

«This transaction furthers Post’s effort to unlock value with creative structuring,» said Rob Vitale, Post’s President and CEO. «What Darcy and her team have achieved is extraordinary and we look forward to building upon that success.» Post expects the corporate headquarters for the new public company to be located in St. Louis with the operating business headquartered in Emeryville, California.

Transaction Details

Post will begin the process to separate its Active Nutrition business while it finalizes the transaction structure and operational agreements and completes the necessary filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Post intends to sell approximately 20 percent of the ownership of the new public company. The transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of fiscal year 2019, subject to prevailing market and other conditions and receipt of other required approvals.

There can be no assurance that the IPO of Post’s Active Nutrition business will occur on the anticipated timeline, if at all. There can be no guarantees that Post or the Active Nutrition business will realize the expected benefits of the potential IPO. Post does not intend to comment on or provide updates regarding these matters unless and until it determines that further disclosure is appropriate or required based on the then-current facts and circumstances. This release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any jurisdiction in which such offering, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.