Dive Brief:
- Treehouse Foods, a manufacturer of private label food products, has reached an agreement to sell itself to European investment firm Investindustrial for $2.9 billion.
- Investindustrial will pay $22.50 in cash for each share of TreeHouse. As part of the deal, TreeHouse shareholders will receive proceeds, if applicable, from litigation against Keurig Dr Pepper.
- The TreeHouse transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, subject to approval by TreeHouse shareholders and the meeting of regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions
Dive Insight:
TreeHouse’s sale ends what has been a challenging time in the public eye recently for the private label food maker.
Despite being ideally placed to benefit from increased consumer demand for store offerings, TreeHouse hasn’t been as big a beneficiary as expected.
Sales have been weighed down by a handful of recalls, which included the potential of listeria in frozen toaster waffles, Belgian waffles and pancake products. TreeHouse also struggled to bring a broth plant back online following maintenance and upgrades in 2023, further hurting its business.
In addition, the pullback in shopper spending that has hit branded food products has impacted private label items, putting pressure on TreeHouse sales.
TreeHouse said Monday that net sales for the third quarter of 2025 totaled $840.3 million compared to $839.1 million in the same period a year ago.
This 0.1% increase was primarily due to inflation-related price increases, the acquisition of a private brand tea business and gains in distribution. Treehouse also faced headwinds due to changes in volume/mix related to broader macroeconomic consumption trends and distribution losses, among other factors.
Going private will allow TreeHouse to further shore up its business away from the pressure of quarterly earnings. Investindustrial, which already has a presence in food and beverage in North America, said TreeHouse will operate independently within its portfolio.
“We are confident in the long-term growth opportunities in private brands and the categories where TreeHouse Foods operates, as well as the company's ability to build on its strong foundation of leadership,” Andrea C. Bonomi, chairman of Investindustrial’s Industrial Advisory Board, said in a statement.
TreeHouse has worked with Investindustrial before. The Illinois-based company sold a significant portion of its meal preparation business to the investment firm in 2022.
For Investindustrial, the acquisition of TreeHouse is a major bet on the private label sector, which has been able to grab sales from major manufacturers as consumers trade down in search of value. Once the deal goes through, Investindustrial will oversee 85 manufacturing plants and 16,000 employees through its portfolio companies.
Private label is forecast to command more than a fifth of food and grocery sales in 2025, according to information from GlobalData, up from 12% two decades ago.
