Vancouver's Premium Brands Holdings Corp. announced Wednesday that it will acquire an 80% interest in Duso's Enterprises Ltd., a Vancouver-based specialty pasta and sauce maker, for approximately $5.6 million.
Premium Brands, which owns a range of specialty food businesses with manufacturing and distribution facilities across Western Canada and Washington, said in a release that it will leverage Duso's pasta and sauce expertise to expand Premium's product offerings.
Duso's has annual sales of approximately $7 million with retail customers across Western Canada.
The deal will see George Duso, president and CEO, retire later this year, while Mauro, George's brother and a co-founder of Duso's, will continue as an operating partner of Duso's.
The $5.6 million purchase price consists of $4 million in cash, 69,252 shares and a $600,000 vendor take-back note due three years after closing.
As part of the deal, Premium will help fund Duso's purchase of approximately $1 million worth of state-of-the-art pasta-making equipment.
Premium's share price range during the past week: $14.53 and $14.70; 52-week high: $14.95; 52-week low: $8.10.